June 15, 2011
The constellations may be old, but the person celebrating beneath them is gloriously new by cosmic standards.
Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri
Birthday · June 15, 2011
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APOD published June 15, 2011. Credit: Gordon Mandell. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Featured in this sharp telescopic image, globular star cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) is some 15,000 light-years away. Some 150 light-years in diameter, the cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun. Omega Cen is the largest of 200 or so known globular clusters that roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Though most star clusters consist of stars with the same age and composition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence of different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances. In fact, Omega Cen may be the remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way.
Image credit: Gordon Mandell