Hubble's Messier 9 Globular Cluster Photo Shows Thousands Of Colorful Stars (PHOTO)

By: Clara Moskowitz
Published: 03/16/2012 12:26 PM EDT on SPACE.com

Hundreds of thousands of glittering stars shine in a cluster at the center of our galaxy in a new photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The cluster is called Messier 9, and contains hordes of stars swarming in a spherical cloud about 25,000 light-years from Earth. The object is too faint to be seen with the naked eye, and when it was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764, the scientist could only resolve it as a faint smudge that he classified as a nebula ("cloud" in Latin).

Now, though, the Hubble Space Telescope is powerful enough to make out more than 250,000 individual stars in Messier 9, in a new picture released today (March 16). The bluer points indicate hotter stars, while the redder stars are cooler.

Story continues below.

Messier 9 is what's known as a globular cluster, containing some of the oldest stars in the galaxy in a clump that is thought to have formed together when the universe was much younger. These stars, which are about twice as old as the sun, are made of different materials than our star. They tend to lack the sun's heavier elements, such as oxygen, carbon and iron, which were only present in larger quantities when the universe was older.

Hubble's new photo is the most high-resolution image ever taken of Messier 9, and reveals the ancient cluster as never before. So many details of the stars are visible, despite the fact that the whole image spans an area no bigger than the size of the head of a pin held at arm's length.

The more than 20-year-old Hubble Space Telescope launched on April 24, 1990. Since then, it has been visited five times by space shuttle crews for repairs and upgrades, and is still in great shape, scientists say.

You can follow SPACE.com assistant managing editor Clara Moskowitz on Twitter @ClaraMoskowitz. Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Comments

[HTXScarface]

01:23 PM on 03/23/2012

Science > Fairy Tales.

[dshiver64]

07:44 PM on 03/22/2012

It is glorious when you look at it. I actually took a pic of it with my phone so that I would be able to keep it with me. I guess just to have. It makes you feel something inside and it is very hard to explain in words.

[Donna Street]

05:57 PM on 03/20/2012

What? Older than younger, did I read that right? Wondering if my brain was playing tricks on me!

[palindrom]

04:56 PM on 03/21/2012

Not surprising -- that passage isn't very well written. What they mean is this:

The amount of heavy elements increases with time, as stars synthesize them and spread them through the universe. The star in the cluster formed early in the history of the universe, and hence lack the heavy elements that were present later on.

[Donna Street]

11:53 AM on 03/25/2012

Thank you for clarification on this article. : )

[uniqumm]

03:03 PM on 03/20/2012

Ummmm...

OK, so what? It's a good picture of M9, although probably not visually color-true.

There is more spectacular stuff they have produced, such as the planetary missions or that shuttle launch video. Or the deep and ultra-deep views into the far reaches of the universe.

[palindrom]

04:56 PM on 03/21/2012

As far as the colors go, it looks reasonably faithful to me.

http://www.vendian.org/mncharity/dir3/starcolor/

[uniqumm]

10:11 PM on 03/21/2012

True, it does have that appearance, but I suspect it's the usual mapping of IR to red, etc.

[hemipwr54]

02:19 PM on 03/20/2012

Boring! Seen this before, SOS,SOSaD.
NASA's removal will fortify mankind!

[Yepperday]

11:23 AM on 03/21/2012

Has anyone told you that you make no sense whatsoever?

[palindrom]

04:57 PM on 03/21/2012

Yes, but it doesn't seem to make any difference, I'm afraid.

[wilsonrev1615]

01:52 PM on 03/20/2012

Totally awesome, gotta love hubble...

[Big Horn Man]

01:29 PM on 03/20/2012

We are still standing here looking up at the stars. We hardly made a dent into the mysteries of the universe. I thought the dream for the Star Trek is for real. We sent out a tiny satellite to look at Mars. Man, we are still stuck here on the earth.

[denisedts]

12:39 PM on 03/20/2012

This pic reminds me of diamonds. The red's the blues, just like diamonds glittering in the light. Beautiful picture!!!

[Scott Bryan Kanner]

12:11 PM on 03/20/2012

There's a complete universe tucked into the corner of my underarm...and trillions of probiotic bacteria that reside in my digestive tract....which onto itself is a fascinating world. They produce a fuel that could power my computer...and more!!

[uniqumm]

02:58 PM on 03/20/2012

and produces a fair amount of b.s. as a by product?

[Scott Bryan Kanner]

03:24 PM on 03/20/2012

Methane does impart a rather pungent odor...Indeed!!!

[Papatrainman]

12:03 PM on 03/20/2012

I love this stuff. How truly HUGE the cosmos is. We can't even wrap our imagination around it!!

Papa
www.papatrains.com

[Quai DOrsay]

10:39 AM on 03/20/2012

Lets Diistroi EARFF Klaatu barada nikto - nuqDaq 'oH puchpa''e' Heghlu'meH QaQ jajvam Banani Ba liaki Chocolat?

[wilsonrev1615]

01:54 PM on 03/20/2012

Ok I think I understood "chocolate"...

[Quai DOrsay]

03:01 PM on 03/20/2012

U got it

[Quai DOrsay]

03:04 PM on 03/20/2012

ERFF be distroi Dekmeh 21 2012 0945 Pacific Time ...NIkto gunptA ...OUT

[Canefighter]

10:25 AM on 03/20/2012

This is one of those things that produce results like these pictures I do not mind some of my tax money being spent on.

[brl131psu]

09:52 AM on 03/20/2012

And the comment with the most responses...is a religious one. lol

[Sarge617]

09:05 AM on 03/20/2012

They tend to lack the sun's heavier elements, such as oxygen, carbon and iron, which were only present in larger quantities when the universe was older.

Shouldn't this read "when the universe was younger"?

[Scorpiaux]

10:07 AM on 03/20/2012

"My God! It's full of stars." - Dave Bowman

Scroll down two posts and read what I put there.

Quite apart from the inaccurate statement, the picture is beautiful (not 'was beautiful'). I ALWAYS look at pictures of stars and the imagined representation of planets and other bodies in space and wonder about the possibility of other life. Along with the ethereal thoughts of intelligent life or just simple organisms, I wonder if other civilizations put up billboards, get drunk on booze, indulge in war against each other, or create Internets and spend their days reviewing recordings of "Dancing with the Stars." I sometimes wonder if there is music out there? With so many stars, there has to be an Alien Strauss playing "Waltz of the Comets." Maybe not.

[Wolftrail34]

10:50 AM on 03/20/2012

No, those elements only formed as the universe aged, and since this star cluster is old ie. formed in the EARLY universe they don't have the same elements as our sun does, since it formed much later in the process..50% later approximately.

[Sarge617]

01:58 PM on 03/20/2012

These stars, which are about twice as old as the sun, are made of different materials than our star. They tend to lack the sun's heavier elements, such as oxygen, carbon and iron, which were only present in larger quantities when the universe was older.

If I read this correctly,it says that these stars are about twice as old as the sun, made of DIFFERENT materials than OUR star. They LACK the sun's heavier elements, such as OXYGEN, CARBON and IRON, which were only present in larger quantities when the universe WAS OLDER. If our sun is YOUNGER, and these stars are OLDER, and it says the OLDER STARS don't have our suns HEAVIER elements because they were only PRESENT in LARGER QUANTITIES when the universe was OLDER, that would mean our sun would not have them at all, as they were only found in OLDER stars. I stand by my statement that it should read "younger" not "older"

[Carla van der Meer]

01:03 AM on 03/20/2012

There is nothing that inspires a childlike sense of wonder in me like these photos. They really are the most beautiful things..Words are hard to find.