The Norma Cluster (ACO 3627 or Abell 3627) is a rich cluster of galaxies located near the center of the Great Attractor; 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 The Zone of Avoidance (ZOA, ZoA), or Zone of Galactic Obscuration (ZGO), is the area of the sky that is obscured by the Milky Way. The Zone of Avoidance was originally called the Zone of Few Nebulae in an 1878 paper by English astronomer Richard ...

, a region near the

plane Plane(s) most often refers to: * Aero- or airplane, a powered, fixed-wing aircraft * Plane (geometry), a flat, 2-dimensional surface Plane or planes may also refer to: Biology * Plane (tree) or ''Platanus'', wetland native plant * Planes (gen ...

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 eye ...

. Consequently, the cluster is severely obscured by

interstellar dust Cosmic dust, also called extraterrestrial dust, star dust or space dust, is dust which exists in outer space, or has fallen on Earth. Most cosmic dust particles measure between a few molecules and 0.1 mm (100 micrometers). Larger particles are c ...

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 ...

es.

ESO 137-001 ESO 137-001 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Triangulum Australe and in the cluster Abell 3627. As the galaxy moves to the center of the cluster at 1900 km/s, it is stripped by hot gas, thus creating a 260,000 light-yea ...

, an example of a

jellyfish galaxy A jellyfish galaxy is a type of galaxy found in galaxy clusters. They are characterised by ram pressure stripping of gas from the affected galaxy by the intracluster medium, triggering starbursts along a tail of gas. Jellyfish galaxies have bee ...

, is located in Abell 3627.

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ESO Press Photos 46a-j/99
*

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, succeeding t ...

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

References

External links