Star Clusters

The outstanding Omega Centauri, largest and brightest star cluster in our Milky Way

Published July 24, 2017 | By Cosmic Tribune

July 24, 2017

[CLICK HERE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION: Mike O’Day]

Behold the largest ball of stars in our galaxy.

Omega Centauri is packed with about 10 million stars, many older than our Sun and packed within a volume of only… Continue reading →

How our galaxy would look from the side

Published May 31, 2017 | By Cosmic Tribune

[Click Here for High Resolution, Lóránd Fényes]

Is our Galaxy this thin? We believe so.

The magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 4565 is viewed edge-on from planet Earth. Also known as the Needle Galaxy for its narrow profile, bright NGC 4565… Continue reading →

The magnificent Orion nebula, powered by Trapezium, and observable by small telescopes

Published March 12, 2017 | By Cosmic Tribune

March 12, 2017

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Christoph Kaltseis, CEDIC 2017]

Near the center of this sharp cosmic portrait, at the heart of the Orion Nebula, are four hot, massive stars known as the Trapezium.

Tightly gathered within… Continue reading →

Mars poses with the stars, Antares and M4

Published September 14, 2016 | By Cosmic Tribune

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Sebastian Voltmer]

Wandering through this stunning field of view, Mars really is in front of these colorful cosmic clouds.

The mosaic contructed from telescopic images is about 5 degrees (10 full moons) across. It… Continue reading →

Check out the magnificent M13 globular star cluster with your binoculars

Published July 27, 2016 | By Cosmic Tribune

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Dean Fournier; Inset: ESA/Hubble & NASA]

M13 is one of the most prominent and best known globular clusters.

Visible with binoculars in the constellation of Hercules, M13 is frequently one of the first objects… Continue reading →

The relatively nearby Formax Galaxy Cluster is only 62 million light years away

Published June 16, 2016 | By Cosmic Tribune

June 16, 2016

CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, European Southern Observatory, Aniello Grado and Luca Limatola

The Fornax Galaxy Cluster is one of the closest of such groupings beyond our Local Group of galaxies. This new VLT Survey Telescope image shows the central part of the cluster in great detail. At the lower-right is the elegant barred-spiral galaxy NGC 1365 and to the left the big elliptical NGC 1399.

The Fornax Galaxy Cluster is one of the closest of such groupings beyond our Local Group of galaxies. This new VLT Survey Telescope… Continue reading →

View from and of a robotic observatory in the Canary Islands

Published May 9, 2016 | By Cosmic Tribune

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Mads Fredslund Andersen, Stellar Astrophysics Centre, Aarhus Univ., Denmark]

Near first quarter, the Moon in March lights this snowy, rugged landscape, a view across the top of Tenerife toward La Palma in the Canary… Continue reading →

Omega Centauri is the largest globular star cluster and also nearby … and ancient

Published April 29, 2016 | By Cosmic Tribune

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Roberto Colombari]

This huge ball of stars predates our Sun. Long before humankind evolved, before dinosaurs roamed, and even before our Earth existed, ancient globs of stars condensed and orbited a young Milky Way… Continue reading →

Lots of energy in that big, black sky: M31, Mirach and M33

Published October 6, 2015 | By Cosmic Tribune

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIGH RESOLUTION, Malcolm Park (North York Astronomical Association)]

Separated by about 14 degrees (28 Full Moons) in planet Earth’s sky, spiral galaxies M31 at left, and M33 are both large members of the Local Group, along… Continue reading →

The amazing Sombrero Galaxy’s glowing central core

Published August 2, 2015 | By Cosmic Tribune

[CLICK ON IMAGE FOR HIS RESOLUTION, Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI /NASA)]

Why does the Sombrero Galaxy look like a hat?

Reasons include the Sombrero’s unusually large and extended central bulge of stars, and dark prominent dust lanes that appear in… Continue reading →

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