Illustration of Future Positions of Stars in Omega Centauri

Using Hubble to Chart the Future Motions of Stars Within a Cluster

The multicolor snapshot, at top, taken with Wide Field Camera 3 aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, captures the central region of the giant globular cluster Omega Centauri. All the stars in the image are moving in random directions, like a swarm of bees. Astronomers used...

Omega Centauri - WFC3

Omega Centauri: Delving into an Archeological Fossil of the Universe

Space Telescope Science Institute astronomers Jay Anderson and Roeland van der Marel discuss their in-depth study of the giant cluster Omega Centauri. The team used Hubble's exquisite resolving power to measure the positions for stars in 2002 and 2006. From these measurements,...

Omega Centauri Observation Zoom Sequence and Future Star Motions

This movie sequence begins with a ground-based image of the giant globular star cluster Omega Centauri and zooms very tightly in to a Hubble Space Telescope image of the central region of the cluster. In a simulation based on Hubble data, the stars appear to be moving in random...

Omega Centauri Model Zoom Sequence and Future Star Motions

This is a zoom into a simulated model of the globular star cluster Omega Centauri. All the stars appear to be moving in random directions, like a swarm of bees. Astronomers used Hubble's exquisite resolving power to measure positions for stars in 2002 and 2006. From these...

Constructing the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram for Globular Star Cluster

A Hubble Space Telescope color image of the core of the globular star cluster Omega Centauri is used to construct a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram of the stellar populations in the cluster. When stars are sorted by brightness and color they can be used to create a graph that...