NASA has released a beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of an ancient star cluster called NGC 1466.
This Hubble image shows the globular cluster NGC 1466. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
NGC 1466 is a globular cluster — a gathering of stars all held together by gravity.
It was discovered on November 26, 1834 by English astronomer John Herschel.
Also known as ESO 54-16 and LW 1, the cluster lies approximately 160,000 light-years away in the small southern constellation Hydrus.
It is located in the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of our closest galactic neighbors.
NGC 1466 has a mass of about 140,000 solar masses and an age of around 13.1 billion years, making it almost as old as the Universe itself.
Nestled within this ancient time capsule are 49 known RR Lyrae variable stars, which are indispensable tools for measuring distances in the Universe.
These variable stars have well-defined luminosities, meaning that astronomers know the total amount of energy they emit.
By comparing this known luminosity to how bright the stars appear in the sky, their distance can be easily calculated.
Astronomical objects such as this are known as standard candles, and are fundamental to the so-called cosmic distance ladder.
