球状星团杜鹃47

2022年3月10日

Globular Star Cluster 47 Tuc
Image Credit & Copyright: Bernard Miller

Explanation: Globular star cluster 47 Tucanae is a jewel of the southern sky. Also known as NGC 104, it roams the halo of our Milky Way Galaxy along with some 200 other globular star clusters. The second brightest globular cluster (after Omega Centauri) as seen from planet Earth, 47 Tuc lies about 13,000 light-years away. It can be spotted with the naked-eye close on the sky to the Small Magellanic Cloud in the constellation of the Toucan. The dense cluster is made up of hundreds of thousands of stars in a volume only about 120 light-years across. Red giant stars on the outskirts of the cluster are easy to pick out as yellowish stars in this sharp telescopic portrait. Tightly packed globular cluster 47 Tuc is also home to a star with the closest known orbit around a black hole.

Tomorrow’s picture: a rainbow smiles

球状星团杜鹃47
影像提供与版权: Bernard Miller

说明: 球状星团杜鹃47（47 Tuc）是南天的珍宝。又名为NGC 104的这个星团，和其他200多个球状星团在银河系的银晕内漫游。从地球看出去，杜鹃47是亮度排行第二的球状星团，只略暗于半人马座的奥米茄星团，用肉眼轻易可在杜鹃座的小麦哲伦星系附近，见到这个远在13,000光年之外的天体。在高恒星密度的球状星团杜鹃47之内，数十万颗成员恒星，拥挤在宽约120光年的体积内，而在其内，有颗恒星拥有现知绕行黑洞的最密近轨道。此外，在这幅清晰的望远镜影像里，星团边缘轻易可办的泛黄恒星是红巨星。

明日的图片: a rainbow smiles