Numerous vibrant stars are packed close together in this image of the globular cluster NGC 1805, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In the dense center of one of these clusters, stars are 100 to 1000 times better together than the nearby stars are to our Sun, making planetary systems around them unlikely.
The striking difference in star colors is detailed perfectly in this image, which combines 2 different kinds of light: blue stars, shining brightest in near-ultraviolet light, and red stars, lit up in near-infrared and red. Space telescopes like Hubble can observe in the ultraviolet because they are placed above Earths atmosphere, which takes in many of this wavelength, making it inaccessible to ground-based centers.
By ESA/Hubble
September 6, 2020
Credit: ESA/Hubble & & NASA, J. Kalirai
This young globular cluster can be seen from the southern hemisphere, in the Dorado constellation, which is Portugese for dolphinfish. Usually, globular clusters consist of stars which are born at the exact same time; however, NGC 1805 is uncommon as it appears to host two various populations of stars with ages millions of years apart. Observing such clusters of stars can help astronomers understand how stars develop, and what factors determine whether they end their lives as white overshadows, or take off as supernovae.
