NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 16 March 2023: Stars in Omega Centauri star cluster | Tech News

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day 16 March 2023: Stars in Omega Centauri star cluster

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day is a captivating snapshot of millions of stars in the Omega Centauri star cluster located in the Centaurus constellation.

By: HT TECH
| Updated on: Mar 16 2023, 12:38 IST
Best NASA Astronomy Pictures of the Week: Large Magellanic Cloud, Dimorphos Asteroid and more
Omega Centauri
1/5 Venus-Jupiter Conjunction (March 6) - It is a stunning picture of Planetary Conjunction involving Jupiter and Venus as it took over the skies back in 2012. It was captured in Szubin, Poland, by creating an illusion of both planets being balanced on two hands. (NASA/Marek Nikodem)
Omega Centauri
2/5 Large Magellanic Cloud (March 7) - The picture shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is located about 180,000 light-years away towards the constellation Dorado. According to NASA, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) spans about 15000 light-years. LMC is also the site of the brightest and closest supernova observed in recent times.  (NASA/Yuri Beletsky(TWAN))
Omega Centauri
3/5 Light Pollution (March 8) - The picture shows artificial brightness present in the night sky, which makes observing celestial objects such as stars, planets and others, increasingly difficult. Parts of the US and Western Europe have artificial night sky glow which is nearly 10 times the natural light in the night sky.  (NASA/JPSS Satellites/David J. Lorenz)
Omega Centauri
4/5 Dimorphos Asteroid (March 9) - It is a thrilling picture of the Dimorphos asteroid, captured just 3 seconds before the collision. It was a $330 million venture which proved to be a success as the target asteroid named Dimorphos deflected off its path. While this asteroid in no way threatened Earth, this was an experiment to gain greater knowledge as to what happens when a craft crashes against a space rock.  (NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/DART)
Omega Centauri
5/5 Orion and Running Man Nebulae (March 10) - stellar snapshot of the Orion Nebula and the Running Man Nebula. Also known as M42, the Orion Nebula is located about 1500 light-years away and spans about 40 light-years across. Another Nebula can be seen embedded in this region, known as the Running Man Nebula, which is the northmost part of the asterism known as Orion’s Sword.  (NASA/Abraham Jones)
Omega Centauri
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Omega Centauri is located about 15000 light-years away. (NASA/Neil Corke(Heaven's Mirror Observatory))

Stars are the most widely recognized astronomical objects and represent the most fundamental building blocks of galaxies. According to NASA, stars are formed in a giant cloud of dust and gas in space, known as a Nebula. After formation, many stars form groups from the same Nebula, forming a Star Cluster. Star clusters can contain as few as ten stars or as many as millions of stars. The age, distribution, and composition of the stars in a galaxy trace the history, dynamics, and evolution of that galaxy.

Today's NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day is a captivating snapshot of millions of stars in the Omega Centauri star cluster. Also known as NGC 5139, Omega Centauri is located about 15000 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. It was the first non-stellar object identified by English astronomer Edmond Halley 1677. According to NASA, Omega Centauri could also be the remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way Galaxy.

Omega Centauri is the largest known globular star cluster in our Milky Way Galaxy, spanning about 150 light-years across. The picture was captured by astronomer Neil Corke at the Heaven's Mirror Observatory in Australia.

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NASA's description of the picture

Globular star cluster Omega Centauri, also known as NGC 5139, is 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a volume about 150 light-years in diameter. It's the largest and brightest of 200 or so known globular clusters that roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy.

Though most star clusters consist of stars with the same age and composition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence of different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances. In fact, Omega Cen may be the remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way. Omega Centauri's red giant stars (with a yellowish hue) are easy to pick out in this sharp, color telescopic view.

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First Published Date: 16 Mar, 12:36 IST
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