Chandra Release - April 14, 2010

Visual Description: Abell 3376

The image showcases the Abell 3376 cluster of galaxies. The dominant colors in the image are gold and dark blue, with many speckles of light visible across the black background. The image looks like a large gold comet or bullet shape is slamming into a dark blue cresting wave. This composite image of Abell 3376 includes X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ROSAT telescope in gold, an optical image from the Digitized Sky Survey in red, green and blue (creating mostly the white and blue specks), and a radio image from the VLA in dark blue. The "bullet-like" appearance of the X-ray data is caused by a merger, as material flows into the galaxy cluster from the right side. Giant radio arcs on the left side of the image (the “cresting waves”) may be caused by shock waves generated by this merger.