The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking photo of the colorful globular cluster NGC 2108.
This Hubble/ACS image shows NGC 2108, a globular cluster located in the constellation Dorado, about 164,000 light-years away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
NGC 2108, also known as ESO 57-33, lies in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy about 164,000 light-years from Earth.
It was discovered in 1835 by the English astronomer, mathematician, chemist and inventor John Herschel, son of the famous William Herschel.
NGC 2108 resembles globular clusters in our own Milky Way Galaxy, but it formed much more recently, approximately 600 million years ago.
The most striking feature of this cluster is the gleaming ruby-red spot at the center left of the image.
What looks like the cluster’s watchful eye is actually a carbon star.
Carbon stars are almost always cool red giants, with atmospheres containing more carbon than oxygen — the opposite to our Sun.
Carbon monoxide forms in the outer layer of the star through a combination of these elements, until there is no more oxygen available.
Carbon atoms are then free to form a variety of other carbon compounds, such as C2, CH, CN, C3 and SiC2, which scatter blue light within the star, allowing red light to pass through undisturbed.
This image of NGC 2108 is made up of observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the infrared and optical parts of the spectrum.
Three filters — F435W, F555W and F814W — were used to sample various wavelengths.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
