The Norma Cluster (ACO 3627 or Abell 3627) is a rich cluster of galaxies located near the center of the

Great Attractor The Great Attractor is a gravitational anomaly in intergalactic space and the apparent central gravitational point of the Laniakea Supercluster. The observed anomalies suggest a localized concentration of mass millions of times more massive tha ...

; it is about distant. Although it is both nearby and bright, it is difficult to observe because it is located in the Zone of Avoidance, a region near the plane of the

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked ey ...

. Consequently, the cluster is severely obscured by interstellar dust at optical wavelengths. Its mass is estimated to be on the order of 10¹⁵

solar mass The solar mass () is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, equal to approximately . It is often used to indicate the masses of other stars, as well as stellar clusters, nebulae, galaxies and black holes. It is approximately equal to the mass o ...

es. ESO 137-001, an example of a jellyfish galaxy, is located in Abell 3627.

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ESO Press Photos 46a-j/99
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NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Image of the Day, January 22, 2010.
The clickable Norma Cluster
Pavo-Indus Supercluster Great Attractor 3627 Abell richness class 1 {{galaxy-cluster-stub

See also

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