Explanation: M4 is a globular cluster visible in dark skies about one degree west of the bright star Antares in the constellation Scorpius. M4 is perhaps the closest globular cluster at 7000 light years, meaning that we see M4 only as it was 7000 years ago, near the dawn of recorded human history. Although containing hundreds of thousands of stars and spanning over 50 light-years, M4 is one of the smallest and sparsest globular clusters known. A particularly unusual aspect for a globular cluster is M4's central bar of stars. M4, pictured above, is one of the oldest objects for which astronomers can estimate age directly. Cluster white dwarfs appear to be at least nine billion years old - so ancient they limit the youth of our entire universe.

<<  Mai  >> Pn Vt Sr Cht Pt Sb Vs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31         1995   1996   1997 1998   1999   2000 2001   2002   2003 2004   2005   2006 2007   2008   2009 2010   2011   2012 2013   2014   2015 2016   2017   2018 2019   2020   2021 2022   2023   2024

Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr'

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: cluster - M 4 - globular cluster - Sharovoe skoplenie Publikacii so slovami: cluster - M 4 - globular cluster - Sharovoe skoplenie
Sm. takzhe: Milliony zvezd v ω Centavra Sharovoe zvezdnoe skoplenie 47 Tukana Ogromnoe sharovoe skoplenie v Gerkulese M15: plotnoe sharovoe zvezdnoe skoplenie NGC 2419: mezhgalakticheskii strannik NGC 4372 i tumannost' Temnaya shtuchka NGC 1850: v Mlechnom Puti takih net Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>