A field of stars spotted by Hubble telescope

This stunning celestial landscape features the globular cluster NGC 1651, a dense and distant assembly of stars located in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) - a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the globular cluster spans approximately 120 light-years in diameter.

According to the European Space Agency (ESA), a prevalent misconception about observing the cosmos is that telescopes like Hubble "zoom" in on celestial objects similar to how camera lenses work on Earth. However, this is not the case. Telescopes such as Hubble have instruments with fixed fields of view, meaning they cannot zoom in or out but instead capture a constant size of the sky in any single observation. For Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), the instrument responsible for this image, the field of view is roughly one-twelfth the diameter of the Moon as seen from Earth.

In the case of the Hubble telescope, it can capture images of objects ranging vastly in size due to two key factors. Firstly, the distance of an object from Earth determines its apparent size in the sky. Consequently, galaxies located far away may appear to occupy the same amount of space as a closer, yet much smaller, globular cluster like NGC 1651.

Secondly, image processors can create mosaics by stitching together multiple images that cover different parts of the sky. This technique allows for the construction of comprehensive images of objects too large to fit within Hubble's field of view. Through such innovative approaches, Hubble continues to provide unparalleled insights into the scale, beauty, and complexity of the universe.

A field of stars ✨This week's #HubbleFriday image features the globular star cluster NGC 1651. Globular clusters are roughly spherical groups of stars held together by their mutual gravity.NGC 1651 is located about 162,000 light-years away: https://t.co/I2V5GjYSUU pic.twitter.com/eOvDa65XfV

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) March 29, 2024