#globularcluster

This star-studded image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts NGC 6717, which lies more than 20 000 light-years from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius.

Credits: ESA/Hubble and NASA, A. Sarajedin

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals an ancient, glimmering ball of stars called NGC 1466. It is a globular cluster — a gathering of stars all held together by gravity — that is slowly moving through space on the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our closest galactic neighbours. NGC 1466 certainly is one for extremes. It has a mass equivalent to roughly 140 000 Suns and an age of around 13.1 billion years, making it almost as old as the Universe itself.

 Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA