Globular cluster M4, NOAO

This sparkling picture taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows globular cluster M4. M4 is relatively close to us, lying 7200 light-years distant, making it a prime object for study. It contains several tens of thousand stars and is noteworthy in being home to many white dwarfs — the cores of ancient, dying stars whose outer layers have drifted away into space.

Links:

• NASA press release
• Globular Cluster M4 - NOAO Ground-Based Image
• The Milky Way and Scorpius Constellation (ground-based image)
• HST/WFPC2 Image with Location of Pulsar
• Detail from HST/WFPC2 with Location of Pulsar