Star cluster
Omega Centauri (NGC 5139)
The largest globular cluster of the Milky Way
A giant globular cluster of 10 million stars and 4 million solar masses — probably the core of a dwarf galaxy swallowed by the Milky Way. There is strong evidence for an intermediate-mass black hole (~40,000 M☉) at its centre.
| Type | Star cluster |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Centaurus |
| Distance | 5,240 pc (17,000 light-years) |
| Apparent magnitude | 3,9 |
| Mass | ~4 × 10⁶ M☉ |
| Number of stars | ~10 million |
| Age | ~12 billion years |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 13h 26m 47.3s |
| Declination (J2000) | −47° 28′ 48″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 43° N. South of latitude 43° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in April, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 17 thousand years ago. At that time Homo sapiens was spreading out of Africa; there was no farming yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 303 million years.