Say hello to the brilliant, crowded starscape in NASA's new Hubble share
Even from our limited view here on Earth we know that outer space is a place of vast emptiness. That knowledge is what makes this look at NGC 6380 all the more surreal.
This latest Hubble image share highlights the globular cluster that's gone by many (and, as NASA notes, fairly boring) names since its existence was first recorded in 1826. The actual sight of NGC 6380 is anything but boring, however.
Look at this marvelous starscape....
That bright, blue showstopper at the top of the image isn't actually part of NGC 6380. The globular cluster, which is a spherical formation of stars held together by gravity, is 35,000 light-years from Earth. Our blue friend, a star dubbed HD 159073, is much closer at only (lol) 4,000 light-years away.
Like most things that live in deep space, our knowledge of NGC 6380 is limited by what we can observe from our great distance. It's part of the Scorpio constellation — yes, this mess of stars is just a single point of light to our puny, naked human eyes. But as you can see above, it's absolutely stunning when we zoom in for a closer view.
Images like this are only possible because Hubble is still functional. The 30-plus year old satellite is drawing close to the end of its life, what with the James Webb Space Telescope set to launch late in 2021. Hubble's operations were even interrupted back in June when the satellite's onboard computer stopped working, but that issue thankfully appears to be fixed.
So enjoy this view of deep space, compliments of Earth's very best eye in the sky (for now).
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
