Galaxy cluster MACS J0717, one of the most complex and distorted galaxy clusters known, is the site of a collision between four clusters. It is located about 5.4 billion light years away from Earth.

Astronomers are studying a half dozen galaxy clusters, including MACS J0717, through the "Frontier Fields" project. To learn more about clusters, including how they grow via collisions, astronomers have used some of the world’s most powerful telescopes, looking at different types of light.

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/van Weeren et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA