Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection
Title:
M4: The Closest Known Globular Cluster
Explanation:
M4 is a globular cluster [ http://www.seds.org…] visible in dark skies about one degree west of the bright star Antares [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the constellation [ http://www.astro.wi…] Scorpius [ http://www.astro.wi…]. M4 is perhaps the closest globular cluster [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] at 7000 light years [ http://www.treasure…], meaning that we see M4 [ http://www.seds.org…] only as it was 7000 years ago, near the dawn of recorded human history [ http://www.hyperhis…]. Although containing hundreds of thousands of stars and spanning over 50 light-years, M4 [ http://adsabs.harva…] is one of the smallest and sparsest globular clusters [ http://ast.leeds.ac…] known. A particularly unusual aspect for a globular cluster is M4 [ http://www.astr.ua.…]'s central bar of stars. M4, pictured above [ http://www.noao.edu…], is one of the oldest objects for which astronomers can estimate age directly. Cluster white dwarfs [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] appear to be at least nine billion years old - so ancient they limit the youth of our entire universe [ http://www.astro.uc…].
Credit and Copyright:
T2KA [ http://www.noao.edu…], KPNO 0.9-m Telescope [ http://www.noao.edu…], NOAO [ http://www.noao.edu/], AURA [ http://www.aura-ast…], NSF [ http://www.nsf.gov/]
keyword:
globular cluster
keyword:
M4
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_what:
Aura
facet_what:
ANTARES
facet_what:
Dawn
facet_what:
Scorpius
facet_what:
globular cluster
original url:
http://antwrp.gsfc.…
UID:
SPD-APOD-ap000523

M4: The Closest Known Globular Cluster
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