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Globular Cluster M4
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.16h 23m 35.4s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-26° 31' 31.9"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Scorpius
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.M4 is roughly 5,600 light-years (1,720 parsecs) from the Earth.
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.Data for this release was taken from HST proposals 5461 and 8679 together with archived observations from HST proposal 8153. The full team involved in this discovery is composed of Brad Hansen (UCLA), Harvey Richer (UBC), Steinn Sigurdsson (Penn State), Ingrid Stairs (UBC) and Stephen Thorsett (UCSC). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>WFPC2
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.February - April 1995; January - April 2001
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F336W (B) 11,800 sec, F555W (V) 15,000 sec, and F814W (I) 4800 sec
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.M4, Messier 4, NGC 6121
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Globular Cluster
- Release DateJuly 10, 2003
- Science ReleaseOldest Known Planet Identified
- CreditsNASA and H. Richer (University of British Columbia)
Related Images & Videos
Artist's View of Planetary System in Globular Cluster M4
A rich starry sky fills the view from an ancient gas-giant planet in the core of the globular star cluster M4, as imagined in this artist's concept. The 13-billion-year-old planet orbits a helium white-dwarf star and the millisecond pulsar B1620-26, seen at lower left. The...
White Dwarf Star Yields Key to Planet's Mass
Three unlikely companions - two burned-out stars and a planet - orbit each other near the crowded core of an ancient globular cluster of more than 100,000 stars. Only one companion, however, is visible in the images. In the image at right, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope,...
Zoom-in to M4 Detail and Planetary System Animation
A zoom into the summer constellation Scorpius to reveal the globular cluster M4. Zoom continues to Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys image of the location of the planet in M4's starry core. The zoom dissolves to an artist's rendition of the Jupiter-sized planet orbiting...
"Stellar Drama" Animation
This animation shows how the Jovian planetary system in the outskirts of globular cluster M4, 13 billion years ago, travels to the core of the cluster. The star is drawn toward a neutron star and its companion. The slowly spinning neutron star captures the star and planet. Its...
Gas Collapse Model of Planet Formation
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Accretion Model of Planet Formation
An animation showing the theory of an accretion model of planet formation. The oribiting dust grains accrete into "planetisimals." The planetisimals grow inside the disk to form "planetary embryos." Gas-giant planets accrete gas envelopes before disk gas dissappears. Gas-giant...
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Details
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
