This amoeba-like splash of color is actually a false color x-ray image of the irregular Abell 1367 cluster of galaxies. Although the image depicts the same central 6 million light years as the optical image, the intense x-ray emission reveals very hot intracluster gas (50 million de- grees Kelvin) filling the space be- tween the clusterΓÇÖs central galaxies.
The shape of the x-ray-emitting regions tells a good deal about the cluster. Unlike the x-ray images of typical round clusters like Perseus, the x-ray image of Abell 1367 betrays its irregular shape. Also unlike the more regular round clusters, which typically have a single central region of intense x-ray emission, the brightest x-ray regions in Abell 1367 are several lumps that seem to be associated
