Posted on 06/19/2015 11:33:10 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: "Beautiful Nebula discovered between the Balance [Libra] & the Serpent [Serpens] ..." begins the description of the 5th entry in 18th century astronomer Charles Messier's famous catalog of nebulae and star clusters. Though it appeared to Messier to be fuzzy and round and without stars, Messier 5 (M5) is now known to be a globular star cluster, 100,000 stars or more, bound by gravity and packed into a region around 165 light-years in diameter. It lies some 25,000 light-years away. Roaming the halo of our galaxy, globular star clusters are ancient members of the Milky Way. M5 is one of the oldest globulars, its stars estimated to be nearly 13 billion years old. The beautiful star cluster is a popular target for Earthbound telescopes. Of course, deployed in low Earth orbit on April 25, 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope has also captured its own stunning close-up view that spans about 20 light-years near the central region of M5. Even close to its dense core at the left, the cluster's aging red and blue giant stars and rejuvenated blue stragglers stand out in yellow and blue hues in the sharp color image.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
The Stars, like dust...
“It’s full of stars!”
This is one of my very favorite pictures of a crowded nebula.
Thank you, Mr. Civilizations.
Thanks - I agree with you, but needed a bit of the thought train to decide.
Sorry I did not mean to be obtuse. Happens because I know what I meant and no one else does. I always appreciate the chance to explain better.
Which is what I already said particularly by pointing out that there is NONE for life outside of our planet
No, that’s not what you already said.
go read it again
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