The Giant Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus a (NGC 5128) and Its Strange Globular Clusters (IMAGE)

ESO

The Giant Elliptical Galaxy Centaurus a (NGC 5128) and Its Strange Globular Clusters

Caption

This huge elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 (also known as Centaurus A) is the closest such galaxy to the Earth, at a distance of about 12 million light-years. Observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope in Chile have discovered a new class of "dark" globular star clusters around this galaxy. These are marked in red. Normal globulars are marked in blue and globulars showing similar properties to dwarf galaxies are in green. The dark globulars appear very similar to other globulars around this galaxy but contain much more mass.

Credit

ESO/Digitized Sky Survey. Acknowledgement: Davide de Martin

Usage Restrictions

None

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.