Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Space
Space
Science
Sharmila Kuthunur

Stunning Hubble telescope photo reveals star-studded M55 cluster

This image shows just a portion of M55, the cluster as a whole appears spherical because the stars’ intense gravitational attraction pulls them together. Hubble’s clear view above Earth’s atmosphere resolves individual stars in this cluster. Ground-based telescopes can also resolve individual stars in M55, but fewer stars are visible.

A distant cluster sparkles with ancient stars in a gorgeous new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.

The dazzling Hubble photo shows just a pocket of Messier 55 (M55), a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius (The Archer) that harbors about 100,000 stars. Astronomers say some of these stars, especially in M55's center, twinkle with changing brightness. 

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.