Michelle Zajac
Mar 01, 2024
This largely inhabited group of stars is the globular cluster NGC 1841, which belongs to the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy that lies about 162,000 light-years away. Satellite galaxies are bound by gravity in orbits around a more huge host galaxy. We normally consider the Andromeda Galaxy as our galaxy’s nearby stellar buddy, however it is more precise to state that Andromeda is the closest galaxy that is not in orbit around the Milky Way galaxy. Lots of satellite galaxies orbit our galaxy and they are far closer than Andromeda. The biggest and brightest of these is the LMC, which is quickly noticeable to the unaided eye from the southern hemisphere under dark sky conditions far from light contamination.
The LMC is home to lots of globular clusters. These heavenly bodies fall someplace in between open clusters– which are much less thick and securely bound– and little, compact galaxies. Significantly advanced observations expose the outstanding populations and attributes of globular clusters are diverse and intricate, and we have yet to completely comprehend how these securely jam-packed groups of stars form. There are specific consistencies throughout all globular clusters: they are really steady and hold their shape for a long time, which indicates they are typically extremely old and include big numbers of really old stars. Globular clusters belong to celestial ‘fossils.’ Simply as fossils offer insight into the early advancement of life in the world, globular clusters such as NGC 1841 can supply insights into really early star development in galaxies.
Text credit: European Space Agency (ESA)
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’sGoddard Space Flight CenterGreenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov