Fornax Galaxy Cluster: VISTA Telescope Zoom In [HD]

This zoom into the Fornax Cluster of galaxies starts with a large slice of sky dominated by the bright constellation of Orion. We zoom in towards the fainter stars of the constellation of Fornax (the Chemical Furnace) and a rich grouping of galaxies emerges — the Fornax Galaxy Cluster. With the final VISTA view we have a family portrait in infrared light of the central part of the cluster that is full of bright galaxies.

A new telescope — VISTA (the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy) — has just started work at ESO's Paranal Observatory and has made its first release of pictures. VISTA is a survey telescope working at infrared wavelengths and is the world's largest telescope dedicated to mapping the sky. Its large mirror, wide field of view and very sensitive detectors will reveal a completely new view of the southern sky. Spectacular new images of the Flame Nebula, the center of our Milky Way galaxy and the Fornax Galaxy Cluster show that it is working extremely well.

Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA and Digitized Sky Survey 2. Acknowledgment: Davide De Martin

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• Fornax Cluster
• galaxies
• Orion
• VISTA telescope
• ESO
• European Southern Observatory
• star cluster
• astronomy