Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 March 16 [2]See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available. Millions of Stars in Omega Centauri Image Credit & [3]Copyright: [4]Neil Corke, Heaven's Mirror Observatory Explanation: Globular star cluster [5]Omega Centauri, also known as NGC 5139, is 15,000 light-years away. The cluster is [6]packed with about 10 million stars much older than the Sun within a volume about 150 light-years in diameter. It's the largest and brightest of 200 or so known [7]globular clusters that roam the halo of our Milky Way galaxy. Though most star clusters consist of stars with the same age and composition, the enigmatic Omega Cen exhibits the presence of [8]different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances. In fact, [9]Omega Cen may be the [10]remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way. Omega Centauri's red giant stars (with a [11]yellowish hue) are easy to pick out in this [12]sharp, color telescopic view. Tomorrow's picture: serpentine __________________________________________________________________ [13]< | [14]Archive | [15]Submissions | [16]Index | [17]Search | [18]Calendar | [19]RSS | [20]Education | [21]About APOD | [22]Discuss | [23]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [24]Robert Nemiroff ([25]MTU) & [26]Jerry Bonnell ([27]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [28]Specific rights apply. [29]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [30]ASD at [31]NASA / [32]GSFC, [33]NASA Science Activation & [34]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2303/NGC5139_Omega_Centauri_3700px.jpg 3. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 4. https://www.astrobin.com/users/NeilCorke/ 5. http://earthsky.org/clusters-nebulae-galaxies/omega-centauri-milky-ways-prize-star-cluster 6. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap080906.html 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_clusters 8. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2021A&A...653L...8L/abstract 9. http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic0809.html 10. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019NatAs...3..667I/abstract 11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151224.html 12. https://www.astrobin.com/cb8do1/ 13. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230315.html 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 15. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 17. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 21. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 22. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230316 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230317.html 24. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 25. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 26. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 27. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 29. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 30. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 31. https://www.nasa.gov/ 32. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 33. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 34. http://www.mtu.edu/