Images by Date
Images by Category
Solar System
Stars
Exoplanets
White Dwarfs
Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy
Normal Galaxies
Quasars
Galaxy Clusters
Cosmology/Deep Field
Miscellaneous
Images by Interest
Space Scoop for Kids
4K JPG
Multiwavelength
Sky Map
Constellations
Photo Blog
Top Rated Images
Image Handouts
Desktops
Fits Files
Visual descriptions
Image Tutorials
Photo Album Tutorial
False Color
Cosmic Distance
Look-Back Time
Scale & Distance
Angular Measurement
Images & Processing
AVM/Metadata
Image Use Policy
Web Shortcuts
Chandra Blog
RSS Feed
Chronicle
Email Newsletter
News & Noteworthy
Image Use Policy
Questions & Answers
Glossary of Terms
Download Guide
Get Adobe Reader
More Information
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
X-ray Astronomy Field Guide
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Questions and Answers
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Chandra Images
Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Related Podcasts
Tour: NASA's Chandra Finds Galaxy Cluster That Crosses the Streams
Download Image

More Information

More Images
Hydra A galaxy cluster
(Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO; Radio: NRAO)

More Releases
Hydra A
Hydra A
(14 Sep 09)

Related Images
Perseus Cluster
Perseus Cluster
(09 Sep 03)
Abell 2597
Abell 2597
(22 Jan 05)
Perseus A
Perseus A
(07 Jun 00)
3c295
3c295
(16 Nov 99)
Hydra A:
Chandra Ploughs Up a Snake In Hydra A


Hydra A
Credit: NASA/CXC/SAO

Hydra A is a galaxy cluster that is 840 million light years from Earth (redshift = .054). The cluster gets its name from the strong radio source, Hydra A, that originates in a galaxy near the center of the cluster. Optical observations show a few hundred galaxies in the cluster. Chandra X-ray observations reveal a large cloud of hot gas that extends throughout the cluster. The gas cloud is several million light years across and has a temperature of about 40 million degrees in the outer parts decreasing to about 35 million degrees in the inner region.



Multi-wavelength Images: (*Images not to scale)
X-ray
Chandra X-ray image of Hydra A
NASA/CXC/SAO

Jpg (160 k)
Tiff (3.8 mb)
PS (3.4 mb)
Optical
Hydra A - optical
La Palma/B. McNamara

Jpg (28 k)
Radio
Hydra A- radio
Greg Taylor, NRAO
Jpg (31 k)
Fast Facts for Hydra A:
Credit  NASA/CXC/SAO
Scale  Image is 2.7 arcmin across.
Category  Groups & Clusters of Galaxies
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 09h 18m 06s | Dec -12° 05' 45"
Constellation  Hydra
Observation Dates  October 30, 1999
Observation Time  7 hours
Obs. IDs  575
Color Code  Intensity
Instrument  ACIS
Distance Estimate  840 million (z=0.054) light years
Release Date  December 09, 1999