We have an epic new photo to share with you taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and it shows a cluster of millions of stars in deep space, specifically 15,000 light-years from Earth. It’s truly amazing and when I see these photos, I’m reminded of how insignificant we are in the universe.
NASA explains the photo, saying:
This colorful image of the globular star cluster Terzan 12 is a spectacular example of how dust in space affects starlight from background objects.
A globular star cluster is a collection of stars, arranged in a spheroidal shape. Stars in globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a greater concentration of stars towards the center. The Milky Way has about 150 ancient globular clusters on its periphery. These clusters orbit the galactic center, but far above and below the flat plane of our galaxy, like bees buzzing around a hive.
The location of this globular cluster, deep in the Milky Way in the constellation Sagittarius, means it is shrouded in gas and dust that absorbs and alters the starlight emanating from Terzan 12. The cluster is about 15,000 light-years from Earth. This position leaves plenty of room for interstellar dust particles that come between us and the cluster to scatter blue light, ensuring that only the reddest wavelengths reach Earth. Clouds of interstellar dust are mottled so that different parts of the cluster appear redder than other parts along our line of sight.
The brightest red stars in the photo are puffy, aging giants, many times larger than our Sun. They lie between Earth and the cluster. Only a few can actually be members of the cluster. The brightest hot blue stars are also found along the line of sight and not within the cluster, which contains only aged stars.
Terzan 12 is one of the 11 globular clusters discovered by the Turkish-Armenian astronomer Agop Terzan about half a century ago. With its keen vision, Hubble has revolutionized the study of globular clusters since its launch in 1990. Hubble’s observations have shed light on the relationship between age and composition in the Milky Way’s innermost globular clusters.
I’m just in awe of it all.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
