Day 17 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar
Day 17 of the 2024 Space Telescope Advent Calendar: Ancient Gathering of Stars The globular cluster NGC 2005 shown in this Hubble image is about 750 light-years from the center of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy. The largest in the Milky Way and is approximately 162,000 light-years from Earth. Globular clusters are dense and can contain tens or even millions of stars. Their density means that they are held tightly by gravity and are therefore very stable. This stability contributes to the longevity of globular clusters. The globular clusters may be billions of years old. and therefore Many globular clusters therefore include very old stars. Studying globular clusters in space may be a little like studying fossils on Earth. Where fossils provide insights into the characteristics of ancient plants and animals Globular clusters illuminate the features of ancient stars.
View the full Advent calendar here. A new photo will be revealed every day until December 25th.
