Hubble Captures Amazing Images of Massive Galaxy Cluster

A new image of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689 being called one of the best images ever captured of the distant cosmic mass.

The image, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, highlights a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, whereby the galaxy cluster acts as an enormous lens, magnifying light from the objects behind it, and enabling astronomers to explore incredibly distant regions of space.

Hubble previously observed the cluster more than a decade ago, but its new images, which combine infrared and visible light gathered over the course of a total exposure time of more than 34 hours, were taken to explore the globular clusters - dense collections of of hundreds of thousands of stars - within Abell 1689.

The globular clusters in Abell 1689 are contain some of the oldest living stars in the universe. While the Mikly Way is home to about 150 of the clusters of old start, Abell 1689 has about 10,000.

Based on that date, astronomers suspect Abell 1689 to contain to contain more than 160,000 globular clusters within it, an unprecedented number.

Abell 1689 is "peppered with glowing golden clumps, bright stars, and distant, ethereal spiral galaxies. Material from some of these galaxies is being stripped away, giving the impression that the galaxy is dripping into the surrounding space," the European Space Association wrote in a statement. "Also visible are a number of electric blue streaks, circling and arcing around the fuzzy galaxies in the center."

"These streaks are the tell-tale signs of a cosmic phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. Abell 1689 is so massive that it actually bends and warps the space around it, affecting how light from objects behind the cluster travels through space. These streaks are actually the distorted forms of galaxies that lie behind Abell 1689."