Deep field around 53W002
This color-composite images is from stacks of exposures with the Wide-Field
Planetary Camera 2 on HST, with a total of nearly 6 hours' exposure in
each of the V (F606W) and I (F814W) filters. The primary target was
the high-redshift radio galaxy 53W002 at z=2.40. As one of the deepest
images yet obtained not targeted to a rich cluster of galaxies, the image
has proven useful in probing the representative galaxy content of the
distant (early) Universe, with many irregular and possible interacting
galaxies present. The limiting magnitude for stellar images is V=28.9,
while for galaxies of typical size it is closer to 26. The blue and red
borders arise from the fact that the two sets of images were taken at
somewhat different spacecraft roll angles and thus do not quite overlap.
A feature of particular interest is that this field was later found to contain
a cluster associated with the radio galaxy. From the ground, three additional
objects
with closely matching redshifts z=2.39 were identified from Lyman-alpha
emission redshifted into the optical range. Further HST observations
identified 15 further members of this very distant cluster
and and showed them to be remarkably compact. Feel free to read our
HST press release
and
more recent research
summary. On top of this, narrow-band images from the Kitt Peak
4-meter telescope taken in July 1997 show that there are additional
objects at the same redshift outside the HST field of view, including
two quasars also at z=2.39, making this an even larger and richer aggregate
of young objects thanm we thought.
UA Astronomy Home Page
keel@bildad.astr.ua.edu (Bill Keel)
Last updated: November 1997