A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope captures a star-studded cluster in the constellation Sagittarius.
This star cluster, known as spherical mass NGC 6540 shines brightly as tens of thousands to millions of stars are strongly bound together by gravity. The new image was created using the notes from Hubble Space TelescopeThe Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys, according to August 15 statement from the European Space Agency (ESA), a partner in the mission.
“The brightest stars in this image are decorated with prominent intersecting patterns of light known as diffraction spikes,” ESA officials wrote in the statement. “These astronomical decorations are a kind of pictorial artifact, meaning they are caused by the Hubble structure and not the stars themselves. The path that the star’s light takes as it enters the telescope is little affected by its internal structure, causing the bright objects to appear to be surrounded by spikes of light.”
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Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys feature different fields of view, which determine how much of the sky each instrument can monitor. The new image was taken when NGC 6540 was in the field of view of both instruments while studying the southern constellation SagittariusAccording to the statement.
Hubble has proven incredibly useful in globular cluster research by looking at its orbits a land 340 miles (550 kilometers) above the surface, where the atmosphere is thin enough not to obscure the telescope’s view stars.
The observations that led to the new image are part of a larger effort to help astronomers measure the ages, shapes, and structures of globular clusters located near the center of our group. Milky Way.
“The gas and dust that shrouds the center of our galaxy is blocking some of the light from these clusters, as well as subtly changing the colors of their stars,” ESA officials wrote in the statement. “Global clusters contain insights into the oldest history of the Milky Way, so studying them can help astronomers understand how our galaxy evolved.”
Hubble, which is over 30 years old, continues to make new discoveries and works hand in hand with the new operation James Webb Space Telescope To study the universe in more detail.
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