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The Globular Cluster M80 in the constellation Scorpius
The Globular Cluster M80 in the constellation Scorpius

A globular cluster is a spherical collection of stars that orbits a galaxy core as a satellite. Globular clusters are very tightly bound by gravity, which gives them their spherical shape, and relatively high stellar density towards their core. Globular clusters contain considerably more stars than the less dense galactic, or open clusters. Globular clusters are fairly numerous; there are about 150 currently known globular clusters in the Milky Way, with perhaps 10–20 more undiscovered. Large galaxies can have more: Andromeda, for instance, may have as many as 500. Some giant elliptical galaxies, such as M87, may have as many as 10,000 globular clusters. These globular clusters orbit the galaxy out to large radii, 40 kiloparsecs or more. Every galaxy of sufficient mass in the local group has an associated group of globular clusters, and almost every large galaxy has been found to possess a system of globular clusters. The Sagittarius Dwarf and Canis Major Dwarf galaxies appear to be in the process of donating their associated globular clusters to the Milky Way, such as Palomar 12. (more...)

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Did you know...

Catherine II of Russia
  • ...that Catherine the Great (pictured) and other leaders of the Russian Enlightenment promoted further Europeanization of all aspects of Russian life?
  • ...that jewellery in the Pacific changed drastically when missionaries began converting many Pacific nations to Christianity?
  • ...that St. Nilus reportedly foretold to princess Aloara of Capua, for her part in the murder of her husband's nephew, that none of her offspring should reign in Capua—a prophecy that came true in 999?
  • ...that between 1955 and 1998, under Article 19 of the Greek Citizenship Code which entitled the Greek government to strip non-ethnic Greeks who left the country of their citizenship, 46,638 members of the officially recognized Muslim minority of Greece lost their citizenship?
  • ... that George J. Adler, one of the greatest linguists of the 19th century, went insane from the effort of publishing his Dictionary of German and English Languages?
  • ...that the Queen Elizabeth Walk in Singapore was built on reclaimed land in 1922 and that it was renamed in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom?
  • In the news

    Yahya Jammeh
    Yahya Jammeh
  • Yahya Jammeh (pictured) is re-elected for a third term as President of the Gambia.
  • Toomas Hendrik Ilves is elected the new President of Estonia.
  • Tainted spinach from California causes at least 165 people in the United States to fall ill, including 27 cases of renal failure with hemolytic-uremic syndrome.
  • A magnetic levitation train accident kills at least 23 people in Lathen, Germany.
  • General Sonthi Boonyaratglin leads a coup d'état in Thailand to depose the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
  • Anti-government protests in Budapest turn violent, after Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány of Hungary admits his party lied to win an election.
  • On this day...

    September 23: Vernal or Autumnal Equinox at 04:03 UTC in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, respectively; Ramadan begins at sunset (Islam, 2006).

    Ramón Emeterio Betances

  • 1459 - Yorkist forces led by Richard Neville won the Battle of Blore Heath in Staffordshire, England, the first major battle of the Wars of the Roses.
  • 1845 - Origins of baseball: Alexander Cartwright organized the first "base ball" team, the New York Knickerbockers.
  • 1846 - The planet Neptune was discovered by astronomers Urbain Le Verrier, Johann Gottfried Galle and John Couch Adams.
  • 1868 - Ramón Emeterio Betances (pictured) led the Grito de Lares, a revolt against Spanish rule in Puerto Rico.
  • 1932 - Hejaz and Nejd were merged and renamed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with Ibn Saud as the first monarch and Riyadh as the capital city.
  • Recent days: September 22September 21September 20
    Mexican Gray Wolf, Minnesota Zoo

    A resting Mexican Wolf (Canis lupus baileyi), kept captive for breeding purposes at the Minnesota Zoo. This is the rarest, most genetically distinct subspecies of the Gray Wolf in North America, making it critically endangered, with fewer than 15 individuals estimated alive in the wild.

    Photo credit: April M. King
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