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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.
Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri
Explanation: Pictured above is the largest ball of stars in our Galaxy. About 10 million stars orbit the center of this globular cluster - named Omega Centauri - as this giant globular cluster orbits the center of our Galaxy . Recent evidence indicates that Omega Centauri is by far the most massive of the about 160 globular clusters in the Milky Way . The stars in globular clusters are generally older, redder and less massive than our Sun. Studying globular clusters tells us about the history of our Galaxy and the age of the universe .
| Date | February 21, 1996 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: P. Seitzer (U. Michigan) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |