Research Hubble Sees a Legion of-Galaxies

Peering deep into the early on universe, this picturesque parallel ground observation from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals thousands of colorful galaxies swimming in the inky black-ness of space. A hardly any foreground stars from our own galaxy, the Milky Way, are as well visible.

In October 2013 Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and higher Camera for Surveys (ACS) began observe this portion of sky as part of the Frontier field program. This spectacular skyscape was captured throughout the study of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 2744, otherwise recognized as Pandora’s Box. While one of Hubble’s cameras concentrated on Abell 2744, the additional camera viewed this adjacent patch of sky close to to the cluster.

Containing innumerable galaxies of various ages, shapes and sizes, this parallel field surveillance is nearly as deep as the Hubble Ultra-Deep ground. In addition to showcasing the stunning beauty of the deep universe in incredible aspect, this parallel field — when compared to additional deep fields — will help astronomers appreciate how similar the universe looks in diverse directions.