 A small region at the heart of Omega Centauri, containing some 50,000 stars (NASA/STScI) Omega Centauri or NGC 5139 is a globular cluster of stars orbiting our galaxy, the Milky Way. It is the largest globular cluster associated with the Milky Way that has been discovered to date, and is one of the few that can be seen with the naked eye. Omega Centauri is located about 17,000 light years from Earth and contains several million Population II stars. It is about 12 billion years old. Download high resolution version (640x800, 162 KB)This image, a small region in the heart of the Omega Centauri globular cluster, was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. ...
Download high resolution version (640x800, 162 KB)This image, a small region in the heart of the Omega Centauri globular cluster, was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. ...
A globular cluster is a spherical bundle of stars (star cluster) that orbits a galaxy as a satellite. ...
The Pleiades star cluster A star is a massive body of plasma in outer space that is currently producing or has produced energy through nuclear fusion. ...
NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 56,000 light years in diameter and approximately 60 million light years distant. ...
A NASA artists conception of what the Milky Way would look like if seen off-axis. ...
Stars can be grouped into two general types called Population I and Population II. The criteria for classification include space velocity, location in the galaxy, age, chemical composition, and differences in distribution on the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. ...
Omega Centauri is located at 13h26.8m right ascension, −47°29' declination, with an apparent magnitude of 3.68, and covering 36.3' of sky. It is in the constellation Centaurus, and was given a Bayer designation despite the fact that it is a cluster and not an individual star. Right ascension (RA; symbol α: Greek letter alpha) is the astronomical term for one of the two coordinates of a point on the celestial sphere when using the equatorial coordinate system. ...
In astronomy, declination (dec) is one of the two coordinates of the equatorial coordinate system, the other being either right ascension or hour angle. ...
Orion is a remarkable constellation, visible from most places on the globe (but not always the whole year long). ...
Centaurus (Latin for centaur) was one of the 48 constellations listed by Ptolemy, and counts also among the 88 modern constellations. ...
Many of the brighter stars are given names which are known as Bayer designations. ...
With more observations, it has been found that Omega Centauri is not like other globular clusters, in that it has several generations of stars. Laura Stanford, a graduate student in the Australian National University’s Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics who conducted a study of Omega Centauri's stars, speculates that it is actually the core of a dwarf galaxy several hundred times its present size, which was ripped apart and absorbed by our Milky Way galaxy. Theoretical modeling by dr Glenn van de Ven at Leiden University confirms her suspicions. A NASA artists conception of what the Milky Way would look like if seen off-axis. ...
See also The Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (Sag DEG) is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way Galaxy. ...
The Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy is located in the same part of the sky as the constellation of Canis Major. ...
Globular Cluster M54 (also known as Messier Object 54, Messier 54, M54, or NGC 6715) is a globular cluster in the Sagittarius Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy (SagDEG). ...
Mayall II, G1, SKHB 1, or HBK 0-1 is a globular cluster in M31, the Andromeda Galaxy. ...
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