The scattered stars of the globular cluster NGC 6355 are strewn across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 6355 is a galactic globular cluster that resides in our Milky Way galaxy’s inner regions. It is less than 50,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Ophiuchus.
Globular clusters are stable, tightly bound groups of tens of thousands to millions of stars that are associated with all types of galaxies. Their dense populations of stars and mutual gravitational attraction give these clusters a roughly spherical shape that holds a bright, central concentration of stars surrounded by an increasingly sparse sprinkling of stars. The dense, bright core of NGC 6355 shines in crystal-clear detail as Hubble is able to resolve individual stars in the crowded area toward the center of this image.
Hubble has revolutionized the study of globular clusters. It is almost impossible to distinguish individual stars in globular clusters with ground-based telescopes. Hubble’s unique capabilities and vantage point above Earth’s light-distorting atmosphere allow it to capture a globular cluster’s constituent stars in detail. This image contains data from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3.
Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, E. Noyola, R. Cohen
这张由NASA/ESA哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的图片中，散布着球状星团NGC 6355的恒星。NGC 6355是一个位于银河系内部的球状星团。它位于蛇夫座，距离地球不到50,000光年。
球状星团是由数万到数百万颗恒星组成的稳定、紧密结合的群体，它们与所有类型的星系都有联系。它们密集的恒星群和相互的引力吸引使这些星团大致呈球形，拥有明亮的恒星中心，周围环绕着越来越稀疏的恒星。NGC 6355致密明亮的核心闪耀着水晶般清晰的细节，因为哈勃能够分辨出这张图像中心拥挤区域中的单个恒星。
哈勃彻底改变了球状星团的研究。用地面望远镜几乎不可能分辨出球状星团中的单个恒星。哈勃望远镜独特的能力和在地球光线扭曲的大气层之上的有利位置，使它能够详细拍摄到球状星团的组成恒星。这张照片包含了哈勃高级巡天相机和广角相机3的数据。
文字来源:欧洲航天局（ESA）
图片来源:ESA/哈勃和NASA, E. Noyola, R. Cohen
Beautiful stars