Globular Cluster Omega Centauri Looks Radiant in Infrared

Spitzer_ssc2008-07a1_1024

spitzer_ssc2008-07a1 April 10th, 2008

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/NOAO/AURA/NSF, NASA/JPL-Caltech/M.Boyer (University of Minnesota)

A cluster brimming with millions of stars glistens like an iridescent opal in this image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Called Omega Centauri, the sparkling orb of stars is like a miniature galaxy. It is the biggest and brightest of the 150 or so similar objects, called globular clusters, that orbit around the outside of our Milky Way galaxy. Stargazers at southern latitudes can spot the stellar gem with the naked eye in the constellation Centaurus.

Globular clusters are some of the oldest objects in our universe. Their stars are over 12 billion years old, and, in most cases, formed all at once when the universe was just a toddler. Omega Centauri is unusual in that its stars are of different ages and possess varying levels of metals, or elements heavier than boron. Astronomers say this points to a different origin for Omega Centauri than other globular clusters: they think it might be the core of a dwarf galaxy that was ripped apart and absorbed by our Milky Way long ago.

In this new view of Omega Centauri, Spitzer's infrared observations have been combined with visible-light data from the National Science Foundation's Blanco 4-meter telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Visible-light data with a wavelength of .55 microns is colored blue, 3.6-micron infrared light captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera is colored green and 24-micron infrared light taken by Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer is colored red.

Where green and red overlap, the color yellow appears. Thus, the yellow and red dots are stars revealed by Spitzer. These stars, called red giants, are more evolved, larger and dustier. The stars that appear blue were spotted in both visible and 3.6-micron-, or near-, infrared light. They are less evolved, like our own sun. Some of the red spots in the picture are distant galaxies beyond our own.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1909-ssc2008-07a1-Globular-Cluster-Omega-Centauri

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

Download Options

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Omega Centauri Omega Cen
Subject - Milky Way
Star > Grouping > Cluster > Globular

Distance

Universescale1
16,960 light years
Spitzer_ssc2008-07a1_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 13h 26m 49.8s
DEC = -47° 28’ 36.4”
Orientation
North is 311.6° CCW
Field of View
28.5 x 28.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Centaurus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue CTIO Optical 550.0 nm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Red Spitzer (MIPS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 24.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Green
Red
Spitzer_ssc2008-07a1_1280
×
ID
ssc2008-07a1
Subject Category
B.3.6.4.2.  
Subject Name
Omega Centauri, Omega Cen
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/NOAO/AURA/NSF, NASA/JPL-Caltech/M.Boyer (University of Minnesota)
Release Date
2008-04-10
Lightyears
16,960
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1909-ssc2008-07a1-Globular-Cluster-Omega-Centauri
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance taken from Fast Facts.
Facility
CTIO, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
-, IRAC, MIPS
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red
Band
Optical, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
-, Near-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
550, 3600, 24000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
201.70745708780729, -47.476772359234658
Reference Dimension
1400.0, 1400.0
Reference Pixel
700, 700
Scale
-0.00033965254539000764, 0.00033965254539000764
Rotation
311.558550852
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
ssc2008-07a1.tif
Metadata Date
2011-09-06
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
16,960 light years

Providers | Sign In