NGC 1818: A Young Globular Cluster
Explanation:
Globular clusters
once ruled the
Milky Way. Back in
the
old days, back when our Galaxy
first formed, perhaps thousands of globular clusters roamed our
Galaxy. Today, there are
perhaps
200 left.
Many
globular
clusters were destroyed
over the eons by repeated fateful encounters with each other or
the
Galactic center. Surviving relics
are
older than any earth fossil,
older than any
other structures in our Galaxy,
and
limit the universe itself
in raw age. There are few, if any, young globular
clusters
in our
Milky Way Galaxy because conditions
are not ripe for more to form. But things are different next
door - in the neighboring
LMC galaxy.
Pictured above is a "young" globular cluster residing
there:
NGC 1818.
Recent observations show it formed only about 40 million years
ago - just yesterday compared to the 12 billion year ages
of globular clusters
in our own Milky Way
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
