Omega Centauri

This photo of Omega Centauri, the brightest and largest globular cluster in the sky, was obtained with the Danish 1.5 m telescope at the ESO La Silla observatory. It shows the central part only; the cluster is actually much larger than the field reproduced here. At a distance of about 16,500 light-years, the diameter of the field corresponds to a linear distance of about 90 light-years. Within this area, there are hundreds of thousands of stars which belong to the cluster.

A recent investigation carried out with the CORAVEL instrument, also attached to this telescope, has shown that the total mass of Omega Centauri is in excess of 5 million solar masses, making it by far the most massive cluster of its type on the Milky Way galaxy.

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso9411a
Type:Observation
Date de publication:27 mai 1994
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso9411
Taille:400 x 349 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Omega Centauri
Type:Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular
Distance:17000 années lumière
Constellation:Phoenix
Catégorie:Star Clusters

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
89,4 Kio
JPEG taille écran
231,8 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
241,7 Kio
1280x1024
324,8 Kio
1600x1200
407,3 Kio
1920x1200
441,9 Kio
2048x1536
533,1 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):23 50 30.60
Position (Dec):-43° 26' 2.96"

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineLongueur d'ondeTélescope
Visible
B
465 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope