Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Centaurus (Cen)  ·  Contains:  NGC 5139  ·  Omega Centauri  ·  omega Cen
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NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri), Nick Large
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NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri)

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NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri), Nick Large
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NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri)

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Description

Omega Centauri has always fascinated me, not because of its sheer size (at about 10x a typical globular clusters it is the largest globular star cluster of the Milky Way) but because of the unusual age the stars it contains. Most globular clusters generally have stars of similar age and composition. However, studies of Omega Centauri reveal that it has different stellar populations that formed at varying periods of time. It has been hypothesized that Omega Centauri may in fact be something other than a globular cluster, such as a remnant core of a small galaxy that was absorbed by the Milky Way galaxy in the distant past.

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NGC 5139 (Omega Centauri), Nick Large