Hubble looks to the Final Frontier on 50th anniversary of “Star Trek”

In the center of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image lies the vast galaxy cluster Abell S1063, situated 4 billion light-years away and encircled by magnified views of galaxies much more distant. The cluster's immense mass distorts and amplifies the light from galaxies positioned far beyond it, a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing. This effect enables Hubble to detect galaxies that would otherwise be too diminutive and faint to observe. Abell S1063 boasts around 100 million-million solar masses, housing 51 confirmed galaxies and potentially over 400 more. Image credit: NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI). Marking its 50th anniversary this year, the TV series "Star Trek" has captivated the public with its iconic motto, "To boldly go where no one has gone before." While the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope may not physically venture deep into space, it boldly peers farther into the cosmos than ever before, delving into the bending of space and time and revealing some of the most remote objects ever witnessed. When "Star Trek" premiered in 1966, Earth's largest telescopes could only observe about half the universe—beyond that lay uncharted realms. Yet, Hubble's remarkable vision has propelled us into the true "final frontier." This is exemplified in the latest Hubble image unveiled today to coincide with the release of the new film "Star Trek Beyond." The image showcases a universe teeming with galaxies, both nearby and distant, some distorted like a funhouse mirror due to a space-warping effect foreseen by Einstein a century ago. At its core, the vast galaxy cluster Abell S1063, positioned 4 billion light-years away, is surrounded by magnified views of galaxies much farther out. Thanks to Hubble's exceptional clarity, the image reveals the gravitational warping of space. The cluster's colossal mass distorts and amplifies the light from galaxies lying far behind it, courtesy of gravitational lensing. This phenomenon enables Hubble to observe galaxies that would otherwise be too minute and dim to perceive. This "warp field" offers a glimpse into the very first galaxies to exist. Already, an infant galaxy has been spotted in the field, resembling how it appeared 1 billion years post the Big Bang. This frontier image offers a sneak peek into the early universe, providing a preview of what the James Webb Space Telescope will unveil in greater detail upon its launch in 2018. The cluster houses roughly 100 million-million solar masses, with 51 confirmed galaxies and potentially over 400 more. The Frontier Fields program, initiated in 2013 as a daring three-year endeavor, combines Hubble with NASA's other Great Observatories—the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory—to explore the early universe by scrutinizing vast galaxy clusters. Identifying the magnified images of background galaxies within these clusters will aid astronomers in refining their models of both ordinary and dark matter distribution within the galaxy cluster, crucial for unraveling the enigmatic nature of dark matter, which constitutes the majority of the universe's mass.