The globular cluster NGC 6544, situated over 8000 light-years away from Earth and consisting of tens of thousands of stars, was caught by the Hubble Space Telescope. The cluster lives in the Sagittarius constellation near the large Lagoon Nebula, an area teeming with newborn stars and concealed elaborate structures revealed by previous infrared observations. Credit: ESA/Hubble & & NASA, W. Lewin, F. R. Ferraro
Hubble Space Telescopes observations of the star-packed NGC 6544 globular cluster, located over 8000 light-years away, aimed to recognize a noticeable radio pulsar and faint X-ray sources to gain insight into the advancement of such clusters. The cluster, residing near the big Lagoon Nebula, holds tricks exposed by infrared research studies of the nebula.
The brimming stars of the globular cluster NGC 6544 glisten in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This cluster of securely bound stars lies more than 8000 light-years away from Earth and is– like all globular clusters– a largely inhabited region of tens of thousands of stars.
This image of NGC 6544 combines information from two of Hubbles instruments– the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) — in addition to 2 different astronomical observations. The first observation was developed to find a noticeable equivalent to the radio pulsar found in NGC 6544. A pulsar is the rapidly spinning residue of a dead star, discharging twin beams of electromagnetic radiation like a vast huge lighthouse. This pulsar turns particularly quickly, and astronomers turned to Hubble to assist determine how this things progressed in NGC 6544..
The 2nd observation which contributed information to this image was also developed to discover the visible equivalents of objects detected at other electromagnetic wavelengths. Instead of matching up sources to a pulsar, however, astronomers used Hubble to browse for the equivalents of faint X-ray sources. Their observations might assist explain how clusters like NGC 6544 change gradually.
NGC 6544 depends on the constellation Sagittarius, near the large Lagoon Nebula, a hazy maze of gas and dust sculpted by the fierce winds of newly born stars. The Lagoon Nebula is really gigantic– even by huge standards– and measures 55 light-years across and 20 light-years from top to bottom. Previous Hubble images of the nebula included infrared observations to expose young stars and detailed structures that would be obscured at visible wavelengths by clouds of gas and dust.
The globular cluster NGC 6544, located over 8000 light-years away from Earth and containing tens of thousands of stars, was recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope. The cluster lives in the Sagittarius constellation near the large Lagoon Nebula, an area bursting with newborn stars and surprise detailed structures revealed by previous infrared observations. Their observations could help explain how clusters like NGC 6544 change over time.
By ESA/Hubble
June 27, 2023
