Monday, January 30, 2023

APOD - Globular Star Cluster NGC 6355 from Hubble

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2023 January 30
A ball of stars containing thousands of stars is shown with mostly light  colored stars but with some stars having vibrant colors.  Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

Globular Star Cluster NGC 6355 from Hubble
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, E. Noyola, R. Cohen

Explanation: Globular clusters once ruled the Milky Way. Back in the old days, back when our Galaxy first formed, perhaps thousands of globular clusters roamed our Galaxy. Today, there are less than 200 left. Over the eons, many globular clusters were destroyed by repeated fateful encounters with each other or the Galactic center. Surviving relics are older than any Earth fossil, older than any other structures in our Galaxy, and limit the universe itself in raw age. There are few, if any, young globular clusters left in our Milky Way Galaxy because conditions are not ripe for more to form. The featured image shows a Hubble Space Telescope view of 13-billion year old NGC 6355, a surviving globular cluster currently passing near the Milky Way's center. Globular cluster stars are concentrated toward the image center and highlighted by bright blue stars. Most other stars in the frame are dimmer, redder, and just coincidently lie near the direction to NGC 6355.

Tomorrow's picture: tails tales


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