APOD 24: OMEGA CENTAURI

2014 May 29

Omega Centauri, a globular cluster also known as NGC 5139, is approximately 15,000 light years away. The cluster is packed with about 10 million stars much older than our Sun; the largest and brightest of 200 or so known globular clusters that roam the halo of the Milky Way Galaxy. Omega Centauri exhibits the presence of different stellar populations with a spread of ages and chemical abundances, leading to the evidence that it may actually be the remnant core of a small galaxy merging with the Milky Way.