Right A NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of a small region (1.4 light-years across) in the globular star cluster NGC 6397 shows far fewer stars than would be expected in faint red dwarf stars were abundant. HST resolves about 200 stars. The stellar density is so low that HST can literally see right through the cluster and resolve far more distant background galaxies. This observation shows the surprising cutoff point below which nature apparently doesn't make many stars smaller that 1/5 the mass of our Sun. If there were lower mass stars in the cluster, then the image would contain an estimated 500 stars. This observation provides new insights into star formation in our Galaxy. Left A ground-based sky survey photograph of the globular cluster NGC 6397, one of the nearest and densest agglomerations of stars to Earth. The cluster is located 7,200 light-years away in the southern constellation Ara, and is one of 150 such objects which orbit our Milky Way Galaxy. Globular clusters are ideal laboratories for studying the formation and evolution of stars. This visible-light picture was taken on March 3, 1994 with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, as part of the HST parallel observing program.
Credits
Credit: F. Paresce, ST ScI & ESA and NASA| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 6397 |
| R.A. Position | 17h 40m 41.35s |
| Dec. Position | -53° 40' 25.29" |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
