Even if it’s 2022 out there, NASA’s good old Hubble telescope doesn’t show any signs that it wants its pension. Once again, it has been aiming its powerful gears towards the skies and revealed a new image that will likely remain in our memories a lot.
Our Milky Way galaxy is teeming with stars. Only God knows for sure what incredible wonders can exist there, as it would literally take astronomers forever to study all those stars in great detail. Most of them are predicted to be hosting planets, which of course, translates to more chances for alien life to exist.
Meet the NGC 6540 globular cluster
NGC 6540 is the name of the globular cluster that exists near our Milky Way’s core, and that was photographed by NASA’s Hubble telescope. Astronomers even predict that there are tens of thousands to millions of stars existing in NGC 6540. The mutual gravitation attraction between the stars seems to be what holds the cluster together.
Have a happy #HubbleFriday! ✨
This sparkling image shows NGC 6540, a globular cluster – a tightly bound swarm of stars that can hold tens of thousands to millions of stars, packed together by their mutual gravitational attraction.
Find out more: https://t.co/oJvbWqfuQM pic.twitter.com/I4xLbzx4Ql
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) August 19, 2022
A statement coming from ESA (European Space Agency) officials says as space.com quotes:
The brightest stars in this image are adorned with prominent cross-shaped patterns of light known as diffraction spikes,
These astronomical embellishments are a type of imaging artifact, meaning that they are caused by the structure of Hubble rather than the stars themselves. The path taken by the starlight as it enters the telescope is slightly disturbed by its internal structure, causing bright objects to be surrounded by spikes of light.
It’s great to find out that astronomers are focusing more on the globular clusters that exist near the core of our own galaxy. The image reveals a bigger plan for studying such cosmic treasures.
The ESA also takes part in managing the Hubble Space Telescope, along with NASA. Along with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), many people thought that it’s only just a matter of time until Hubble would face the end of the road. It’s great to see that the moment still seems far away!
