APOD: December 6, 1996 - Globular Cluster M3 (original) (raw)

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos!Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

December 6, 1996
See Explanation. Clicking on the picture will download the highest resolution version available.

Globular Cluster M3 Credit and Copyright: P. Challis (CfA),1.2-m Telescope,Whipple Observatory

Explanation: This huge ball of stars predates our Sun. Long before mankind evolved, before dinosaurs roamed, and even before our Earth existed, ancient globs of stars condensed and orbited a young Milky Way Galaxy. Of the 250or so globular clustersthat survive today, M3is one of the largest and brightest, easily visiblein the Northern hemisphere with binoculars. M3contains about half a million stars, most of which are old and red. The existence of young blue stars in M3 once posed a mystery, but these blue stragglers are now thought to form via stellar interactions.

Tomorrow's picture: Planetary Systems Now Forming in Orion

< Archive| Index| Search| Glossary| Education| About APOD >

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff(MTU) &Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Technical Rep.: Jay Norris.Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEAatNASA/GSFC