Explorer

NASA Extends Diwali Wishes By Sharing Image Of A ‘Celestial Festival Of Lights’ Captured By Hubble. See PIC

NASA has called the globular cluster a “celestial festival of lights”. The globular cluster is located 30,000 light years away from Earth, near the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.

NASA has extended Diwali wishes to everyone who celebrates the festival by sharing on social media an image of a globular cluster captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The space agency has called the globular cluster a “celestial festival of lights”. The globular cluster is located 30,000 light years away from Earth, near the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.

A globular cluster is a stable, tightly bound cluster of tens of thousands to millions of stars, and are associated with all types of galaxies.

NASA Extends Diwali Wishes By Sharing Image Of A ‘Celestial Festival Of Lights’ Captured By Hubble. See PIC
A globular cluster captured by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. (Photo: X/@NASA)

The globular cluster is Liller 1, and has tightly bound blue stars. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) captured this image with precision because the instrument is sensitive to wavelengths of light the human eye cannot detect.

MUST READ | Science For Everyone: Why Delhi Air Pollution Is So Severe, And What Needs To Be Done

Liller 1 is located within the Milky Way's 'bulge', which refers to the dense and dusty region at the centre of the galaxy.  

As a result, interstellar dust has heavily obscured Earth's view of Liller 1. Interstellar dust scatters visible light, especially blue light, quite effectively. 

MUST READ | Delhi Air Pollution: How Outdoor And Indoor Air Pollution Affect Male And Female Reproductive Health

However, infrared and red visible light can pass through the dusty regions, and since WFC3 is sensitive to both visible and near-infrared wavelengths, the instrument has been able to see through the clouds of dust.

Liller 1 is a unique globular cluster because it contains a mix of very young and very old stars. This makes Liller 1 interesting because most globular clusters have only old stars, some of which are as old as the universe.

MUST READ | How Are Planets Made? NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Makes Breakthrough Discovery

Liller 1 has two distinct stellar populations with different ages, the youngest population being one to two billion years old, and the oldest one being 12 billion years old. 

This means that Liller 1 was formed over an extraordinarily long period of time, according to NASA.

MUST READ | NASA's Chandra X-ray And Webb Discover Most Ancient Supermassive Black Hole Observed In X-rays. SEE Pic

View More
Advertisement
Advertisement
25°C
New Delhi
Rain: 100mm
Humidity: 97%
Wind: WNW 47km/h
See Today's Weather
powered by
Accu Weather
Advertisement

Top Headlines

Maharashtra Elections: With 50 Rebels In Fray, Can Mahayuti And Maha Vikas Aghadi Contain The Dissent?
Maharashtra Elections: With 50 Rebels In Fray, Can Mahayuti And Maha Vikas Aghadi Contain The Dissent?
India Confirms Meeting Between India, Canada Intel Officials, But Maintains No Evidence Shared On Nijjar Case
India Confirms Meeting Between India, Canada Intel Officials, But Maintains No Evidence Shared On Nijjar Case
Jharkhand Elections: INDIA Bloc Arrives At Seat-Sharing Agreement For Assembly Polls, Friendly Fight In 3 Seats
INDIA Bloc Arrives At Seat-Sharing Agreement For Jharkhand Polls, Friendly Fight In 3 Seats
Pawar Family Hosts Separate Diwali Events For 1st Time As Ajit, Sharad Gear Up For Maharashtra Polls
Pawar Power Split: Pawar Family Hosts Two Diwalis For 1st Time As Ajit, Sharad Gear Up For Polls
Advertisement
ABP Premium

Videos

Maharashtra Election: If Numbers Are Needed, Who Will You Choose? Devendra Fadnavis Makes a 'Prediction'Maharashtra Election: Listen to Raj Thackeray's Take On Who Will Be Maharashtra's Next CM | Raj Thackeray ExclusiveMaharashtra Election: Ajit Pawar Speaks Out on Allegations of Collusion with Sharad Pawar | Ajit Pawar ExclusiveChirag Paswan Exclusive Interview: Responds with Laughter on Marriage, Uncle, Nitish & PM Modi | ABP LIVE

Photo Gallery

Embed widget