Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 February 20 [2]A ball of yellow stars is seen to the right of blue-glowing gas filaments. Other blue filaments and foreground stars cover the frame. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. NGC 1850: Not Found in the Milky Way Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA and [5]P. Goudfrooij ([6]STScI); Processing: [7]M. H. Özsaraç ([8]Türkiye Astronomi Dernegi) Explanation: There is nothing like this ball of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. This is surprising because, at first glance, this [9]featured image by the [10]Hubble Space Telescope suggests that star cluster [11]NGC 1850's size and shape are reminiscent of the many [12]ancient globular [13]star clusters which roam our own [14]Milky Way Galaxy's halo. But NGC 1850's stars are all too young, making it a type of star cluster with [15]no known counterpart in the Milky Way. Moreover, [16]NGC 1850 is also a [17]double star cluster, with a second, compact cluster of stars visible here just to the right of the large cluster's center. Stars in the large cluster are estimated to be 50 million years young, while stars in the compact cluster are younger still, with an age of about 4 million years. A mere 168,000 [18]light-years distant, NGC 1850 is located near the outskirts of the [19]Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. The glowing gas filaments across the image left, like [20]supernova remnants in our own galaxy, testify to violent [21]stellar explosions and indicate that short-lived massive [22]stars have recently been present in the region. Tomorrow's picture: double falls __________________________________________________________________ [23]< | [24]Archive | [25]Submissions | [26]Index | [27]Search | [28]Calendar | [29]RSS | [30]Education | [31]About APOD | [32]Discuss | [33]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell ([37]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [38]Specific rights apply. [39]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC, [43]NASA Science Activation & [44]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2302/Ngc1850_HubbleOzsarac_2048.jpg 3. https://www.nasa.gov/ 4. https://www.esa.int/ 5. https://www.stsci.edu/~goudfroo/Blank.html 6. https://www.stsci.edu/who-we-are 7. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mhozsarac/ 8. https://www.tad.org.tr/ 9. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mhozsarac/52639407387/in/dateposted/ 10. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_1850 12. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230130.html 13. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Globular_cluster 14. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_halo 15. https://www.meme-arsenal.com/memes/4b87f4d2c84a7197cf9141e2e2295c4b.jpg 16. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2001/25/1093-Image.html 17. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221122.html 18. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/ 19. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200523.html 20. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220113.html 21. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/supernova/en/ 22. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/how-do-stars-form-and-evolve 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230219.html 24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 32. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230220 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230221.html 34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 41. https://www.nasa.gov/ 42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 44. http://www.mtu.edu/