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 M3
Explanation: Explanation : This huge ball of stars predates our Sun. Long before mankind evolved, before dinosaurs roamed , and even before our Earth existed, ancient globs of stars condensed and orbited a young Milky Way Galaxy . Of the 250 or so globular clusters that survive today, M3 is one of the largest and brightest, easily visible in the Northern hemisphere with binoculars. M3 contains about half a million stars, most of which are old and red. The existence of young blue stars in M3 once posed a mystery, but these blue stragglers are now thought to form via stellar interactions .
| Date | December 6, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Globular Cluster M3 Credit and Copyright: P. Challis (CfA), 1.2-m Telescope, Whipple Observatory |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |