Learning About Space

Noticeable to the naked eye in clear weather from a dark observing location, as well as a mediocre amateur telescope, Omega Centauri could be seen as an incredible, tightly packed ball, consisting of a sparkling stars. However, when astronomers used observations during professional telescopes, they can reveal an incredible secret of this beautiful globular cluster. This new image was obtained on the basis of Data collected from a wide-angle imager (Wide Field Imager (WFI)), installed on 2.2 – meter telescope Max-Planck/ESO, which is located at La Silla Observatory (La Silla) ESO (European Southern Observatory), which rises in arid mountains of the southern Atacama desert (Atacama), Chile. Omega Centauri extends across about 150 light years and is the most massive of all globular clusters in the Milky Way. Suggest that it contains approximately ten million stars! The last study of this intriguing celestial giant suggests that in the center of this cluster is a black hole of average size. Observations made by Hubble Space Telescope (Hubble), and the Gemini Observatory (Gemini – Twins), showed that the star at the center skopleniyar moved with unusual speed, the reason for this, as established by astronomers, was the gravitational effect massive black hole mass estimated at 40,000 times the mass of the sun (Sun). The presence of this black hole – is only one reason, due to which some astronomers include Omega Centauri (Omega Centauri) to the “illegals” (Unregistered objects “).

Some believe that, in fact, is the heart of a dwarf galaxy that was almost completely destroyed in a collision with the Milky Way (Milky Way). Another fact (see here and here) indicates that the cluster contains several generations of stars is something unexpected for a typical globular cluster, which was supposed to contain only the stars formed at the same time. Whatever truth, this dazzling celestial object gives astronomers professionals and astronomers – amateur one and the same stunning view on a clear night sky.