The globular star cluster Messier 54

Eso_eso1428a_1024

eso_eso1428a September 10th, 2014

Credit: ESO

This image from the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in northern Chile shows the globular cluster Messier 54. This cluster looks very similar to many others, but it has a secret. Messier 54 doesn’t belong to the Milky Way, but actually is part of a small satellite galaxy, the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy. This unusual parentage has allowed astronomers to use the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to test whether unexpectedly low levels of the element lithium in stars are also found in  stars outside the Milky Way.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1428a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
M 54
Subject - Local Universe
Star > Grouping > Cluster > Globular
Eso_eso1428a_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 18h 55m 3.6s
DEC = -30° 28’ 32.6”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CCW
Field of View
1.0 x 1.0 degrees
Constellation
Sagittarius

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (r) -
Green VST (OmegaCAM) Optical (g) -
Blue VST (OmegaCAM) Ultraviolet (u) -
Eso_eso1428a_1280
×
ID
eso1428a
Subject Category
C.3.6.4.2  
Subject Name
M 54
Credits
ESO
Release Date
2014-09-10T12:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/eso1428a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
VLT Survey Telescope, VLT Survey Telescope, VLT Survey Telescope
Instrument
OmegaCAM, OmegaCAM, OmegaCAM
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
Optical, Optical, Ultraviolet
Bandpass
r, g, u
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
283.764930144, -30.4757345713
Reference Dimension
17208.0, 16310.0
Reference Pixel
8604.0, 8155.0
Scale
-5.94569583245e-05, 5.94569583245e-05
Rotation
0.06
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
4.302294908994988
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
eso1428a
Resource URL
https://www.eso.org/public/archives/images/original/eso1428a.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2014-09-05T14:39:58+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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