Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Centaurus (Cen)  ·  Contains:  HD115787  ·  HD115861  ·  HD115875  ·  HD115912  ·  HD115989  ·  HD116001  ·  HD116035  ·  HD116036  ·  HD116037  ·  HD116067  ·  HD116068  ·  HD116147  ·  HD116166  ·  HD116167  ·  HD116197  ·  HD116225  ·  HD116226  ·  HD116240  ·  HD116241  ·  HD116268  ·  HD116295  ·  HD116337  ·  HD116351  ·  HD116352  ·  HD116353  ·  HD116354  ·  HD116370  ·  HD116414  ·  HD116451  ·  HD116486  ·  And 132 more.
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Omega Centauri #3, Molly Wakeling
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Omega Centauri #3

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Omega Centauri #3, Molly Wakeling
Powered byPixInsight

Omega Centauri #3

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Another shot from my trip out to Semper Tenebris!

Omega Centauri is the largest known globular cluster in the galaxy. It's also at a very southerly declination -- you have to be pretty far south in the US to see it. From our spot east of Tucson, AZ, it comes up about 10 degrees off the horizon at its highest. We spotted it with binoculars at 4 degrees above the horizon, and it's so awesome to see!

Omega Centauri has a diameter of 150 lightyears, and within that space it contains 10 million stars! It may even have an intermediate-mass black hole at the center. It is thought to have originally been the core of a dwarf galaxy that was gobbled up by the Milky Way, particularly since the stars within have a variety of ages and metallicities, suggesting they weren't all formed together, as is the case with most globular clusters. The cluster lies about 15,800 lightyears from Earth.

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Omega Centauri #3, Molly Wakeling

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