Abell 2457 - Galaxy Cluster
The galaxy cluster Abell 2457 is located at a distance of about 800 million light years in the northern part of the constellation Aquarius
and has a redshift of z=0.0591. The cluster is moving away from us at a speed of 17,700 kilometers per second.
The elliptical galaxy in the center has a diameter of about 110,000 light-years and is thus about as large as our Milky Way.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In my 20" telescope at a low magnification of 120x nothing can be seen at first. Only an increase to 270x shows many of the galaxies at
the limit of perception.
The "cD- galaxy" (central dominant) in the center is easy to see with averted vision, the other galaxies flash out of the darkness every
now and then for a few seconds and then disappear again. A total of 21 galaxies were visible in this cluster. A pretty nice object! :)
