A Hubble Space Telescope image of the globular star cluster, Messier 4. The cluster is a dense collection of several hundred thousand stars. Astronomers suspect that an intermediate-mass black hole, weighing as much as 800 times the mass of our Sun, is lurking, unseen, at its core.
Credits
Image
ESA/Hubble, NASA
Science
NASA, ESA, Eduardo Vitral (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | M 4, Messier 4, NGC 6121 |
| Object Description | Globular Cluster |
| R.A. Position | 16:23:35.48 |
| Dec. Position | -26:31:29.48 |
| Constellation | Scorpius |
| Distance | 7,000 light-years |
| Dimensions | Image is 3.5 arcmin across (about 7 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST observations include those from program (A. Sarajedini) |
| Instrument | ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | March 2006 |
| Filters | F435W, F606W, F814W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS/WFC instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample wide and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F435W, Green: F606W, Red: F814W |
| 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. |
