Illustration of stars.
SPACE — A decade ago, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Gaia mission. The Gaia mission’s ambition is to create a 3D map of our galaxy.
After observing about 1.8 billion stars, and obtaining a nearly complete map of the Milky Way galaxy, scientists realized an important gap: scientists could not clearly see the part of the sky filled with stars.
So scientists operating the Gaia space observatory decided to take a closer look at conglomerations of stars called globular clusters.
This research is a re-analysis of old data that has been collected previously. ESA enlisted the help of amateur astronomers to help with the analysis. This mission focuses on the Omega Centauri cluster, which is approximately 17,090 light years from Earth.
The study revealed half a million new stars in just this one cluster. This study also discovered cosmic objects that are so heavy that they can bend their own light.
What is a globular cluster?
Globular clusters or globular clusters are dense collections consisting of hundreds of thousands of stars. Globular clusters are some of the oldest objects in the universe.
Discovering this cluster helped scientists realize that the sun is not the center of the Milky Way spiral galaxy.
The majority of galactic globular clusters are located near the center of the Milky Way. Using their location, they found that the Sun and Earth are in an open cluster found in one of the galaxy’s spiral arms, the Sagittarius arm.
Astronomers have been mapping the Milky Way for centuries. However, the large number of stars in it can sometimes overwhelm telescopes and limit our ability to read them correctly.
Bright stars in a cluster are often brighter than other stars that are weaker in light but closer. This is quite difficult. Now, Gaia has provided a clearer picture of these clusters than ever before.
Why did Gaia choose Omega Centauri?
Omega Centauri is the largest globular cluster in the Milky Way known to be visible from Earth. Omega Centauri is almost the size of the full Moon when observed from a dark and remote area.
Omega Centauri has a diameter of 150 light years. It is estimated to be four million times heavier than the sun and is spread across about 10 million stars.
Scientists studying Gaia mapped the cluster by observing its core every time it was visible.
Half a million new stars revealed in Omega Centauri mean this is the most busy region explored by Gaia so far.
2023-10-10 23:54:00
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