This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows NGC 1854, a globular star cluster in the southern constellation of Dorado.
This image shows NGC 1854, a star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud (one of our closest cosmic neighbors). Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
NGC 1854 was discovered on 2 August 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop.
Also known as ESO 56-SC72 and NGC 1855, the cluster lies about 135,000 light-years away.
It belongs to a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud.
According to astronomers, the Large Magellanic Cloud is rich in interstellar gas and dust and is a hotbed of vigorous star formation.
The galaxy is home to about 60 globular clusters and 700 open clusters.
These clusters are frequently the subject of astronomical research, as the Large Magellanic Cloud and its apparent neighbor and relative, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are the only systems known to contain clusters at all stages of evolution.
Hubble is often used to study these clusters as its extremely high-resolution cameras can resolve individual stars, even at the clusters’ crowded cores, revealing their mass, size and degree of evolution.
This new image of NGC 1854 is made up of observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the optical and near-infrared parts of the spectrum.
It is based on data obtained through two filters: a green (F555W) filter and a near-infrared (F814W) filter.
