Sample galaxy 29263: A distant, obscured quasar. Quasars are the brilliant beacons of light that are powered by black holes feasting on captured material.

Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Fornax
Release date: 27 June 2012, 13:50
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, and K. Schawinski (Yale University, USA)

Sample galaxy 25783: Quasars are the brilliant beacons of light that are powered by black holes feasting on captured material, and in the process, heating some of the matter to millions of degrees. The brightest quasars reside in galaxies distorted by collisions with other galaxies. These encounters send lots of gas and dust into the gravitational whirlpool of hungry black holes. Now, however, astronomers are uncovering an underlying population of fainter quasars that thrive in normal-looking spiral galaxies. They are triggered by black holes snacking on such tasty treats as a batch of gas or the occasional small satellite galaxy.

Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Fornax
Release date: 27 June 2012, 13:50
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, and K. Schawinski (Yale University, USA)

Sample galaxy 33160: This galaxy has so much dust surrounding it that the brilliant light from its quasar cannot be seen in these Hubble Space Telescope images. Quasars are the brilliant beacons of light that are powered by black holes feasting on captured material, and in the process, heating some of the matter to millions of degrees. This galaxy is part of a census of 30 quasar host galaxies conducted with two of NASA's premier observatories, the Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope. It was found in the Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey (CANDELS). The study shows that 26 of the host galaxies bear no tell-tale signs of collisions with neighbors, such as distorted shapes.

Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Fornax
Release date: 27 June 2012, 13:50
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, and K. Schawinski (Yale University, USA)

Sample galaxy 36721: Black holes in the early universe needed a few snacks rather than one giant meal to fuel their quasars and help them grow, a new study shows. Quasars are the brilliant beacons of light that are powered by black holes feasting on captured material, and in the process, heating some of the matter to millions of degrees. The brightest quasars reside in galaxies distorted by collisions with other galaxies. These encounters send lots of gas and dust into the gravitational whirlpool of hungry black holes. Now, however, astronomers are uncovering an underlying population of fainter quasars that thrive in normal-looking spiral galaxies. They are triggered by black holes snacking on such tasty treats as a batch of gas or the occasional small satellite galaxy.

Type: Early Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar
Category: Quasars and Black Holes
Constellation: Fornax
Release date: 27 June 2012, 13:50
Credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, and K. Schawinski (Yale University, USA)

A glimmer from a dark cosmic era: With the combined power of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, as well as a cosmic magnification effect, astronomers have spotted what could be the most distant galaxy ever seen. Light from the primordial galaxy traveled approximately 13.2 billion light-years before reaching the telescopes, shining forth from the so-called cosmic dark ages when the Universe was just 3.6 percent of its present age. Astronomers relied on gravitational lensing to catch sight of the early, distant galaxy. In this phenomenon, predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago, the gravity of foreground objects warps and magnifies the light from background objects. In the big image at left, the many galaxies of a massive cluster called MACS J1149+2223 dominate the scene. Gravitational lensing by the giant cluster brightened the light from the newfound galaxy, known as MACS1149-JD, some 15 times, bringing the remote object into view. At upper right, a partial zoom-in shows MACS1149-JD in more detail, and a deeper zoom appears to the lower right. In these visible and infrared light images from Hubble, MACS1149- JD looks like a dim, red speck. The small galaxy's starlight has been stretched into longer wavelengths, or "redshifted," by the expansion of the universe. MACS1149-JD's stars originally emitted the infrared light seen here at much shorter, higher-energy wavelengths, such as ultraviolet. The far-off galaxy existed within an important era when the universe transformed from a starless expanse during the dark ages to a recognizable cosmos full of galaxies. The discovery of the faint, small galaxy opens a window onto the deepest, remotest epochs of cosmic history.

Name: MACS1149-JD, MACS J1149+2223
Type: Early Universe : Cosmology : Phenomenon : Lensing
Category: Cosmology
Release date: 20 September 2012, 14:44
Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Zheng (JHU), M. Postman (STScI), and the CLASH Team

Galaxy cluster MACS J1149+2223: In this image the many galaxies of the massive cluster MACS J1149+2223 dominate the scene. This cluster played an important role in discovery of the newfound galaxy, known as MACS1149-JD. Gravitational lensing by this giant cluster brightened the light from the galaxy some 15 times, a galaxy which may be the most distant ever observed. For more detailed images of the galaxy see here.

Name: MACS J1149+2223
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy
Category: Cosmology
Constellation: Leo
Release date: 20 September 2012, 14:44
Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Zheng (JHU), M. Postman (STScI), and the CLASH Team

Location of galaxy candidate MACS1149-JD: The red dot in the centre of this image is the newfound galaxy MACS1149-JD observed using the combined power of NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes, as well as a cosmic magnification effect. MACS1149-JD could be the most distant galaxy ever observed and opens a window onto the deepest, most remote epochs of cosmic history.

Name: MACS1149-JD
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy
Category: Cosmology
Constellation: Leo
Release date: 20 September 2012, 14:44
Credit: NASA, ESA, W. Zheng (JHU), M. Postman (STScI), and the CLASH Team

Compass and scale image of MACS J1149+2223: The large image on the left is dominated by the many galaxies of the massive cluster MACS J1149+2223. Gravitational lensing by the giant cluster brightens the light from a newfound galaxy, known as MACS1149-JD, some 15 times. The upper right shows MACS1149-JD in more detail, and a deeper zoom appears to the lower right. This newfound galaxy is thought to be the most distant galaxy ever observed and opens a window onto the deepest, most remote epochs of cosmic history

Name: MACS J1149+2223
Type: Early Universe : Galaxy
Category: Cosmology
Release date: 20 September 2012, 14:44
Credit: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI)