HUBBLE ATLAS
Fornax galaxy with four globular clusters marked (Fornax 1, Fornax 2, Fornax 3, Fornax 5, Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal (Galaxy)) — image from the Hubble Space Telescope

Star clusters

Fornax galaxy with four globular clusters marked

November 20, 2014 · ESA/Hubble · Fornax 1, Fornax 2, Fornax 3, Fornax 5, Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal (Galaxy)

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This is a Digitized Sky Survey 2 image of the dwarf galaxy Fornax. Highlighted here are four globular clusters found in the galaxy called Fornax 1, 2, 3 and 5.

New observations of the four clusters — large balls of stars that orbit the centres of galaxies — show they are very similar to those found in our galaxy, the Milky Way. The finding is at odds with leading theories on how these clusters form — in these theories, globular clusters should be nestled among large quantities of old stars — and so the mystery of how these objects came to exist deepens.