Oldest Known Objects May Be Surprisingly Immature

Chandra_392_1024

chandra_392 April 28th, 2008

Credit: NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ/J.Fregau

These two Chandra images are part of a study that shows that globular clusters, some of the oldest known objects in the Universe, may be less mature in their development than previously thought. The amount of bright X-ray sources is an indication of where each globular cluster stands in its evolution. In these images, red, green, and blue represent low, medium, and high-energy X-rays detected by Chandra. NGC 6397 has a clear surplus of X-ray sources, suggesting that it is in its middle age, while NGC 6121 appears to still be in adolescence.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2008/gclust/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

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Image Details

Image Type
Collage
Object Name
NGC 6121
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Grouping > Cluster > Globular

Distance

Universescale1
7,200 light years

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 16h 23m 34.9s
DEC = -26° 32’ 46.5”
Constellation
Scorpius

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 1.65 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 780.0 pm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray 310.0 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_392_1280
×
ID
392
Subject Category
B.3.6.4.2  
Subject Name
NGC 6121
Credits
NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ/J.Fregau
Release Date
2008-04-28
Lightyears
7,200
Redshift
7,200
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2008/gclust/
Type
Collage
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
1.65, 0.78, 0.31
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
245.89549684777, -26.54624202417
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
gclust.tif
Metadata Date
2013-09-05T15:55:44-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
7,200 light years

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