Posted on Sep 26, 2024
APOD: 2024 September 26 - The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
1.07K
62
10
13
13
0
Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the September 26th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Charles Messier cataloged it in 1764 (and dubbed it M13), but Edmund Halley first noted this 'little patch' in 1716. A globular cluster is a concentrated grouping of stars bound together by gravity, with a greater density of stars towards its center: in M13, stars are about 500 times more concentrated than in our solar neighborhood (Alpha Centauri is an estimated 4 light years from our Sun).
Some believe there are over 1,000,000 stars collected into the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. Lying 25,000 light years from Earth, scientists estimate its age to be at least 14 billion years old. M13 was selected in 1974 as target for one of the first radio messages addressed to possible extra-terrestrial intelligent races, and sent by the (now offline) big radio telescope of the Arecibo Observatory.
Some believe there are over 1,000,000 stars collected into the Great Globular Cluster in Hercules. Lying 25,000 light years from Earth, scientists estimate its age to be at least 14 billion years old. M13 was selected in 1974 as target for one of the first radio messages addressed to possible extra-terrestrial intelligent races, and sent by the (now offline) big radio telescope of the Arecibo Observatory.
APOD: 2024 September 26 - The Great Globular Cluster in Hercules
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
NASA
Space
Science
Photography
Astronomy
Posted 3 mo ago
Responses: 4
8
8
0
Beautiful photo. We've had overcast skies for a week now, looks like at least another four or five before things clear out. Miss seeing the sun and the stars!
(8)
(0)
7
7
0
Stars massed really close together, in astronomical measurements, I would think would wreak havoc on planets and moons of associated stars. Just look at the difference our own moon has over the tides here o earth and it does not nearly have the gravitational pull a star would.
(7)
(0)
Maj William W. 'Bill' Price
MSgt Dale Johnson Excellent point. One possible answer to your question may be the crystalline structure of diamond (which accounts for many of its characteristics). Could the stability of diamond provide a similar explanation for the apparently stable structure of a globular cluster?
(5)
(0)
Bethina Lee
Maj William W. 'Bill' Price that's a good theory, never thought about it like that...similar heat, pressure, etc..
(3)
(0)
5
5
0
I can't begin to imagine the size of that cluster. 25,000 light years away and it shows up like that! It yuge!!
(5)
(0)
Read This Next
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google