Marvel at a new globular cluster, Terzan 12’s stunning image by Hubble

Well done, Hubble for another marvelous globular cluster’s photo!

In an image recently captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, a globular cluster named Terzan 12 takes center stage, located 15,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius within our Milky Way galaxy.

Globular clusters, these dense clusters of hundreds of thousands to millions of stars, provide a unique glimpse into the evolution and dynamics of celestial bodies. The new Hubble image showcases Terzan 12 shrouded in gas and dust, creating a captivating interplay of colors.

Released on September 7th, the image’s higher concentration of stars near the cluster’s center adds to its brilliance, providing astronomers with a treasure trove of data.

As NASA officials aptly put it, these globular clusters are like “bees buzzing around a hive” in the outskirts of our Milky Way. However, Terzan 12 stands out in the new image due to the scattering of blue light by interstellar dust particles, allowing only the redder wavelengths to reach our view.

The brightest red stars in the photo are massive giants, several times larger than our sun.

Hubble’s mission in capturing Terzan 12 is part of a larger initiative to explore the inner globular clusters of our galaxy. These clusters differ from their counterparts in the Milky Way’s outer halo, and the Hubble telescope is contributing valuable insights into their age and composition.

Astronomers, with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide-Field Camera 3, are unfolding the mysteries of these ancient structures, shedding light on the processes that shaped our universe.

According to NASA, the Milky Way has about 150 ancient globular clusters at its outskirts, and Terzan 12 is one of 11 globular clusters discovered by the Turkish-Armenian astronomer Agop Terzan approximately a half-century ago..

“These clusters orbit around the galactic center, but far above and below the pancake-flat plane of our galaxy, like bees buzzing around a hive,” NASA officials said in a statement.

Every image, every discovery, fuels our understanding of the cosmos. Hubble’s work with globular clusters’ Terzan 12 image is considered as a remarkable addition to its portfolio of cosmic wonders.