(click on image to enlarge)
From NASA/ ESA, May 17, 2021:
This packed ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week showcases the galaxy
cluster ACO S 295, as well as a jostling crowd of background galaxies
and foreground stars. Galaxies of all shapes and sizes populate this
image, ranging from stately spirals to fuzzy ellipticals. As well as a
range of sizes, this galactic menagerie boasts a range of orientations,
with spiral galaxies such as the one at the centre of this image
appearing almost face on, and some edge-on spiral galaxies visible only
as thin slivers of light.
The cluster dominates the centre of this image, both visually and
physically. The huge mass of the galaxy cluster has gravitationally
lensed the background galaxies, distorting and smearing their shapes. As
well as providing astronomers with a natural magnifying glass with
which to study distant galaxies, gravitational lensing has subtly framed
the centre of this image, producing a visually striking scene.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Pacaud, D. Coe
