Hubble Image of a Globular Cluster: A Bevy of Glittering Stars .
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of the globular cluster Terzan 2 in the constellation Scorpio.
Globular clusters are stable, tightly gravitationally bonded clusters of tens of thousands to millions of stars seen in a wide range of galaxies.
The tremendous gravitational force between the densely packed stars is responsible for the globular clusters' constant, spherical shape.
As a result, views of the hearts of globular clusters, as seen in this Terzan 2 observation, are densely packed with brilliant stars.
In this observation, Hubble employed both its Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Wide Field Camera 3, taking use of the complementing capabilities of both instruments.
Despite having just one primary mirror, Hubble's architecture allows for the employment of many equipment to examine celestial objects.
Light from distant celestial objects enters Hubble and is captured by the telescope's 2.4-meter primary mirror before being reflected off the secondary mirror.
The telescope's depths, where smaller mirrors may guide light into particular instruments.
Each of Hubble's four operating instruments is a work of art in its own right, with a complicated network of mirrors and other optical components to eliminate aberrations or optical flaws from image .
The mirrors within each instrument also compensate for Hubble's primary mirror's flaw.