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> The globular cluster Omega Centauri, NGC 5139
The globular cluster Omega Centauri, NGC 5139
author: Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin Images/Novapix
reference: a-agb51-39011
Image Size 300 DPI: 40 * 51 cm
One of the richest in the Milky Way, Omega Cen contains several million stars, but unlike its southern rival, 47 Tucanae, it has a relatively open structure. Like most galactic globular clusters, the stellar population of Omega Cen identifies it as one of the oldest objects associated with the Milky Way, indeed its age is comparable to that of the Universe itself. The cluster contains a large number of RR Lyrae variable stars which enable its distance to be determined as 17,000 light years.
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