Hubble to predict the movements of the stars

2010/10/28 Aulestiarte Lete, Izaro - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa

• Astronomia

On this occasion, scientists have taken advantage of the Hubble Telescope to advance thousands of years over time. At the top of the image, bright colors, is the center of the globular cluster of the Omega Centauri Milky Way (group of stars). And thanks to the photographs taken by the telescope, astronomers have been able to figure out how the stars will move inside in the next 10,000 years. All these stars in the image move in a random direction, like bees.

Well, the photographs taken by Hubble in 2002 and 2006 have served to measure the exact position of cluster stars. And, in view of the movement experienced during these four years, they have been able to predict the frantic future movement of the stars. The lower illustration represents the future position of the stars highlighted in the white picture of the upper figure. Each line shows the movement of stars over the next 600 years.

Image courtesy of: NASA, ESA, J. Anderson and R. van der Marel (STScl).