Hubble Space Telescope Spies Glittering Globular Cluster

This Hubble image shows NGC 6325, a globular cluster some 26,000 light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus. The color image includes both optical and near-infrared observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / E. Noyola / R. Cohen.

Globular clusters are among the oldest known objects in the Universe and are relics of the first epochs of galaxy formation.

Of the 150 globular clusters belonging to our Milky Way Galaxy, about 70 lie within 13,000 light-years from the Galactic center where their density tends to peak.

“Globular clusters like NGC 6325 can be found in all types of galaxies, and act as natural laboratories for astronomers studying star formation,” Hubble astronomers said.

“This is because the constituent stars of globular clusters tend to form at roughly the same time and with similar initial composition, meaning that astronomers can use them to fine-tune their theories of how stars evolve.”

“We inspected this particular cluster not to understand star formation, but to search for a hidden monster,” the astronomers said.

“Previous research found that the distribution of stars in some highly concentrated globular clusters — those with stars packed relatively tightly together — was slightly different from what astronomers expected.”

Category: Technology

Source: Sci News