A new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows off the massive globular cluster NGC 6139.
The globular cluster NGC 6139 as seen by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
Globular clusters are gravitationally-bound groupings of stars which orbit galaxies.
These objects typically contain hundreds of thousands of stars that are thought to have formed at roughly the same time as their host galaxy.
They are denser and more spherical than open star clusters like the famous Pleiades.
The large mass in the rich stellar center of the cluster pulls the stars inward to form a ball of stars. The word globulus, from which these clusters take their name, is Latin for small sphere.
It is thought that every galaxy has a population of globular clusters. Some galaxies have a few hundred, while giant ellipticals can have several thousand.
Our Milky Way Galaxy is orbited by at least 150 globular clusters, including NGC 6139.
First discovered in May 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, NGC 6139 is some 35,000 light-years distant.
The cluster is seen roughly in the direction of the center of the Milky Way, in the constellation of Scorpius.
Most globular clusters are estimated to be over 10 billion years old.
As a result they contain some of the oldest stars in the Milky Way, formed very early in its history. However, their role in galactic evolution is still a matter of study.
This image of NGC 6139 is a composite of separate exposures acquired by Hubble’s Wide-Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument.
Two filters — a blue (F438W) filter and a wide-band (F555W) filter – were used to sample various wavelengths.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
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