Glittering Globular Star Cluster Terzan 12 in Sagittarius | Hubble

Glittering Globular Star Cluster Terzan 12 in Sagittarius | Hubble

Globular star cluster Terzan 12

This composite image shows the location of the globular star cluster Terzan 12 in Sagittarius as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope.

The glittering globular cluster Terzan 12—a vast, tightly bound collection of stars—fills the frame of this image from the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope. This star-studded stellar census comes from a string of observations that aim to systematically explore globular clusters located towards the center of our galaxy, such as this one in the constellation Sagittarius. The locations of these globular clusters—deep in the Milky Way galaxy—mean that they are shrouded in gas and dust, which can block or alter the wavelengths of starlight emanating from the clusters.

Distance: 15,000 light years

Image Description: The frame is completely filled with bright stars, ranging from tiny dots to large, shining stars with prominent spikes. In the lower-right the stars come together in the core of the star cluster, making the brightest and densest area of the image. The background varies from darker and warmer in color, to brighter and paler where there are more stars.

Here, astronomers were able to sidestep the effect of gas and dust by comparing the new observations made with the razor-sharp vision of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide-Field Camera 3 with pre-existing images. Their observations should shed light on the relation between age and composition in the Milky Way’s innermost globular clusters.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Cohen (Rutgers University)

Release Date: Sept. 7, 2023

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