They are among the oldest objects in the universe. Globular clusters are very old star systems, gravitationally bound into a single structure about 100-200 light years across.
They can contain hundreds of thousands or perhaps a million stars, and each galaxy is believed to have a population of globular clusters. Some, like the Milky Way, have a few hundred, while elliptical galaxies can be several thousand.
NGC 1805 is approximately 163,000 light years distant in the southern constellation of El Dorad o. It resides on the outskirts of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way.
It was discovered on September 24, 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop.
"Observing these star clusters can help us understand how stars evolve and what factors determine whether they end their lives as white dwarfs or explode as supernovae, " say the Hubble astronomers.
"The striking difference in the colors of the stars is beautifully illustrated in this Hubble image, which combines two different types of light: blue stars (the youngest), which shine brightest in near-ultraviolet light, and red stars (the oldest. ), illuminated in red and near infrared ", they clarify.
