A team of astronomers from around the world, in conjunction with the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is on the hunt for galaxy clusters, massive congregations of galaxies that harbor large amounts of hot gas. These structures are believed to be influenced by dark matter and dark energy, some of the universe's most elusive components, making the study of them very important in order to advance our understanding of the universe.
The team collected European Space Agency (ESA) XMM-Newton survey results, which is currently the largest time allocation granted for the orbiting telescope, with observations from various laboratories including the ESO. This massive, growing collection of data that spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum is called the XXL survey and scientists hope that it will shed light on galaxy clusters.
"The main goal of the XXL survey is to provide a well-defined sample of some 500 galaxy clusters out to a distance when the Universe was half its current age," said Marguerite Pierre, principal investigator of XXL, in a press release.
Current observations from the survey's telescopes were used to analyze the light emitted from galaxies within the clusters, allowing the team to create a three-dimensional view of the cosmos in order to conduct precise measurements of dark matter and dark energy.
Although the XXL survey only possesses one fifth of the expected final data, as of now, it is expected to produce exciting results and shed light on some of the more elusive questions regarding our universe.
A description of the survey, as well as early results, was published in the Dec. 15 issue of Astronomy & Astrophysics.
