APOD: 2023 January 30 Б Globular Star Cluster NGC 6355 from Hubble
30.01.2023

Globular clusters once ruled the Milky Way. Back in the old days, back when our Galaxy first formed, perhaps thousands of globular clusters roamed our Galaxy. Today, there are less than 200 left. Over the eons, many globular clusters were destroyed by repeated fateful encounters with each other or the Galactic center.

Abell 1689 Warps Space
9.01.2003

Two billion light-years away, galaxy cluster Abell 1689 is one of the most massive objects in the Universe. In this view from the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys, Abell...

Omega Centauri
26.05.2006

Centaurus, the Centaur, is one of the most striking constellations in the southern sky. The Milky Way flows through this celestial expanse whose wonders also include the closest star to the sun, Alpha Centauri, and the largest globular star cluster in our galaxy, Omega Centauri.

Twin Galaxies in Virgo
1.02.2019

Spiral galaxy pair NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 share this sharp cosmic vista with lonely elliptical galaxy NGC 4564. All are members of the large Virgo Galaxy Cluster. With their classic spiral arms, dust lanes, and star clusters, the eye-catching spiral pair is also known as the Butterfly Galaxies or the Siamese Twins.

A Giant Globular Cluster in M31
17.10.1998

This cluster of stars, known as G1, is the brightest globular cluster in the whole Local Group of galaxies. Also called Mayall II, it orbits the center of the largest nearby galaxy: M31. G1 contains over 300,000 stars and is almost as old as the entire universe.

APOD: 2024 March 20 Б The Eyes in Markarians Galaxy Chain
20.03.2024

Across the heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster lies a string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain. Prominent in Markarian's Chain are these two interacting galaxies, NGC 4438 (left) and NGC 4435 - also known as The Eyes.

The Antennae Galaxies
22.10.1997

A ground-based telescopic view (left) of the collision between the galaxies NGC4038 and NGC4039 reveals long arcing insect-like "antennae" of luminous matter flung from the scene of the accident. Investigators using the Hubble Space...

Binary Black Hole in 3C 75
12.04.2006

The two bright sources at the center of this composite x-ray (blue)/ radio (pink) image are co-orbiting supermassive black holes powering the giant radio source 3C 75. Surrounded by multimillion degree x-ray emitting gas, and blasting out jets of relativistic particles the supermassive black holes are separated by 25,000 light-years.

Unexpected Galaxy String in the Early Universe
20.01.2004

How could such a long string of galaxies form so early in the universe? Several new measurements of galaxies and clusters in the early universe are reporting structures involving galaxies and clusters that are larger than expected with the new standard "dark-energy" cosmology.

Stars, Galaxies, and Comet Tempel 1
12.05.2005

Faint comet Tempel 1 sports a fuzzy blue-tinted tail, just right of center in this lovely field of stars. Recorded on May 3rd slowly sweeping through the constellation Virgo, periodic comet Tempel 1 orbits the Sun once every 5.5 years.