Portrait of a Globular Cluster

Esahubble_potw2228a_1024

esahubble_potw2228a July 11th, 2022

Credit:  ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen

The globular cluster Terzan 2 in the constellation Scorpio features in this observation from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Globular clusters are stable, tightly gravitationally bound clusters of tens of thousands to millions of stars found in a wide variety of galaxies. The intense gravitational attraction between the closely packed stars gives globular clusters a regular, spherical shape. As a result, images of the hearts of globular clusters, such as this observation of Terzan 2, are crowded with a multitude of glittering stars.   Hubble used both its Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field Camera 3 in this observation, taking advantage of the complementary capabilities of these instruments. Despite having only one primary mirror, Hubble’s design allows multiple instruments to be used to inspect astronomical objects. Light from distant astronomical objects enters Hubble and is collected by the telescope's 2.4-metre primary mirror; it is then reflected off the secondary mirror into the depths of the telescope, where smaller mirrors can direct light into individual instruments.  Each of the four operational instruments on Hubble is a masterpiece of astronomical engineering in its own right, and contains an intricate array of mirrors and other optical elements to remove any aberrations or optical imperfections from observations, as well as filters which allow astronomers to observe specific wavelength ranges. The mirrors inside each instrument also correct for the slight imperfection of Hubble's primary mirror. The end result is a crystal-clear observation, such as this glittering portrait of Terzan 2. Links Video of Portrait of a Globular Cluster

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://esahubble.org/images/potw2228a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Baltimore, MD, United States

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Terzan 2
Esahubble_potw2228a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 17h 27m 32.6s
DEC = -30° 48’ 7.1”
Orientation
North is 58.5° CW
Field of View
2.2 x 2.4 arcminutes
Constellation
Scorpius

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Red Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (H) 1.6 µm
Green Hubble (WFC3) Infrared (YJ) 1.1 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Red
Green
Esahubble_potw2228a_1280
×
ID
potw2228a
Subject Category
Subject Name
Terzan 2
Credits
 ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen
Release Date
2022-07-11T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://esahubble.org/images/potw2228a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, WFC3, WFC3
Color Assignment
Blue, Red, Green
Band
Optical, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
V, H, YJ
Central Wavelength
606, 1600, 1100
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
261.8857055372007, -30.801976281296593
Reference Dimension
2611.0, 2895.0
Reference Pixel
1305.5, 1447.5
Scale
-1.3892657704240191e-05, 1.3892657704240191e-05
Rotation
-58.4800000000003
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
https://esahubble.org
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
United States
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
potw2228a
Metadata Date
2022-06-28T02:18:02+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×

There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

Providers | Sign In