【】

Hubble's latest image share is a good one for fans of cosmic razzle-dazzle.
You're seeing NGC 6717, a globular cluster that forms a piece of the constellation Sagittarius. But where it appears to you, a person on the ground staring up at the sky, as a pinprick of light amidst other pinpricks of light, to Hubble it's something much more magnificent.

A globular cluster is like a little miniature galaxy. It's a collection of stars, sometimes numbering in the thousands, that are gathered together in a roughly spherical formation. They're held together by immense gravitational forces that often make a cluster's central region more densely packed.
This particular image is a beautiful yet imperfect look at NGC 6717. While most of the points of light you see are part of the cluster, the brightest spots in the center of the image are stars that sit directly between NGC 6717 and Hubble's view of it from Earth's orbit.
Prime Day deals you can shop right now
Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.iRobot Roomba j7+ (7550) Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum—$599.00
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet—$142.49(List Price $219.99)
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case—$168.99(List Price $249.00)
Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker With 6-Months Membership—$99.95(List Price $159.95)
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 41mm, Midnight, S/M, Sports Band)—$279.99(List Price $399.00)
You can tell which ones are in the way by their distinctive diffraction spikes (i.e. the long jets of light criss-crossing some of the stars). These spikes form, NASA notes, when the light released by each star "interacts with the structures supporting Hubble’s secondary mirror."
SEE ALSO:NASA scientists spot troubling, extreme melting in Greenland from a planeCapturing an image of NGC 6717 is complicated by the fact that the Sagittarius constellation sits in the same region of the sky as the center of our galaxy, the Milky Way. The galaxy's center is filled with "light-absorbing dust and gas" that makes capturing this globular cluster more challenging.
If you've seen our looks at other Hubble images, you've definitely read about its Wide Field Camera 3, which was added to the orbital telescope decades into its life, in 2009. This look at NGC 6717 is a composite of imagery captured by WFC3 as well as Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, a 2002 upgrade that looks at visible and red wavelengths in large stretches of sky.
相关文章
Dog elected for third term as mayor of Minnesota town
Hopefully he has a human chief of staff.。Duke the Great Pyrenees is the only dog that's ever been el2025-04-03Mysterious 'Destiny' ARG solved, and it's part of a giant raid puzzle
First, a round of applause for Datto and his Destinyraid crew.A great many people worked on solving2025-04-035 charming Joe Biden & Jill Biden moments from the Social Good Summit
If you're a human, odds are, you love Joe Biden or have at least felt attracted to him at some point2025-04-03We asked total strangers to pick one outfit for the rest of their lives
LONDON -- Choosing an outfit for the day can be a joyful experience. But looking fleeky on a daily b2025-04-03Darth Vader is back. Why do we still care?
They saved the best for last in the first official trailer for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, release2025-04-03Some Samsung Note7 replacements have new issues.
Samsung's Galaxy Note7 nightmare just won't end. 。After an official recall of its Note7 phone with th2025-04-03
最新评论