A Stellar Close Encounter at the Core of Globular Cluster M15 (artist's impression)
The sky is ablaze with several hundred thousand stars in the imaginary view from the surface of a hypothetical planet at the center if the globular star cluster called M15 (located 30,000 light-years away in the constellation Pegasus). The average distance between stars is a fraction of a light-year.
A new population of extremely hot and blue stars - recently discovered by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope - stand out like diamonds on black velvet. At the center of the image, a bypassing star gravitationally pulls the outer envelop of gas from a red giant star. This process will expose the giant's core - the nuclear fusion "engine" that powers the star.
Credit:
G. Dana Berry, STSCI
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo9313b |
| Type: | Artwork |
| Release date: | 9 June 1993, 06:00 |
| Size: | 2384 x 2960 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Messier 15, NGC 7078 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Globular |
| Distance: | 35000 light years |
