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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
Explanation: Stars come in bunches. Of the over 200 globular star clusters that orbit the center of our Milky Way Galaxy , 47 Tucanae is the second brightest globular cluster (behind Omega Centauri ). Known to some affectionately as 47 Tuc or NGC 104, it is only visible from the Southern Hemisphere . Light takes about 20,000 years to reach us from 47 Tuc which can be seen near the SMC in the constellation of Tucana . Red Giant stars are particularly easy to see in this picture . The dynamics of stars near the center of 47 Tuc are not well understood, particularly why there are so few binary systems there.
| Date | April 22, 2001 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: W. Keel ( U. Alabama in Tuscaloosa ) et al., 1.54-m Telescope , Chile |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |