As part of Hubble’s 35th anniversary ceremony, astronomers have acquired a stunning new image of a rich collection of scattered stars. Messier 72.
This Hubble image shows the Messier 72, a spherical cluster about 50,000 light years away in the constellation of Aquarius. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/A. Sarajedini / G. Piotto / M. libralato.
Spherical clusters are a very old star system, coupled to a single structure, about 100-200 light-years by gravity.
They contain hundreds of thousands, or perhaps million stars. Large masses at the center of the rich stars in the cluster pull the stars inward to form a ball of stars.
Spherical clusters are one of the oldest known objects in the universe and are relics from the first era of the Galactic Layer.
It is believed that all galaxies have a population of spherical clusters. Our Milkyway Galaxy hosts at least 150 such objects, and could be hidden behind the thick disks of the Galaxy.
Messier 72 is It was located It is about 50,000 light years away from Earth, the constellation of Aquarius.
This spherical cluster, also known as the M72 or NGC 6981, is almost 9.5 billion years old.
Its apparent size is 9.4, and appears as a faint patch of light on a small telescope. The best time to observe it is September.
Messier 72 was the first one I discovered it In 1780, by Pierre Messine, a French astronomer and colleague of Charles Messier.
It is the first of the five-star clusters Mechine discovers while assisting Messier, and one of the most remote clusters in Messier’s catalog.
“Messier 72 is a particularly special target as it was the first image to be released in the Hubble Picture of the Week series on April 22, 2010,” Hubble Astronomers said in a statement.
“For 15 years, our team has been publishing new Hubble images every Monday for everyone to enjoy.”
“This has added nearly 800 images to the vast Hubble Image Archive over the years.”
“The impressive variety of star colours in the new Messier 72 images, especially compared to the original image, is the result of adding UV observations to previous visible light data,” they added.
“Colors indicate different types of stars.”
“The blue star is a cluster star originally larger, and after burning much of its hydrogen fuel, it now reaches a hotter temperature. The bright red object is a low-mass star that is now a red giant.”
“Studying these different groups will help you understand the spherical clusters and how the galaxies in which they were born were first formed.”
Source: www.sci.news
