漫天闪耀的宝石箱
半人马座是南天星空中最让人印象深刻的一个星座，其中有一颗星是最靠近我们太阳的一个恒星系统，称为半人马座阿尔法星，另外还有一个银河系中最大的球状星团，称为半人马Ω（欧米伽）星团。这张广角望远镜所拍摄的半人马座Ω星团，大约包含有一千万颗星，影像中还可以看到许多背景星，一些暗黑的星尘云气，以及遥远的星系。半人马座Ω星团距离我们约15000 光年，半径约150 光年。
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Explanation: Centaurus the Centaur is one of the most striking constellations in the southern sky. The Milky Way flows through this celestial expansewhose wonders also include the closest star to the Sun Alpha Centauri and the largest globular star clusterin our galaxy Omega Centauri. This gorgeous wide-field telescopic viewof Omega Centauri shows off the cluster of about 10 million starsand the surrounding star field with very faintdust clouds and distant background galaxies. Omega Cen itself is about 15000 light-years away and 150 light-years in diameter - one of 150 or so known globular star clusters that roam the halo of our galaxy. The stars in globular clusters are much older cooler and less massive than our Sun.
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