A star cluster has a secret

The ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the stunning globular star cluster Messier 4. This group consists of tens of thousands of antique stars is one of the closest and one of the most studied globular clusters. Recent research has exposed that one of its stars has unusual and surprising properties; apparently it is the secret of eternal youth.

Around the Milky Way orbit over 150 globular star clusters that date back to the distant past of the Universe (eso1141). One of the closest to Earth is the cluster Messier 4 (also known as NGC 6121), located in the constellation of Scorpios (the Scorpion). This bright object can be seen easily with binoculars near Altars, a red supergiant star, and a small amateur telescope can show some of the stars that constitute it.

This new image, obtained with the WFI (Wide Field Imager Wide Field Camera) the MPG / ESO 2.2-meter telescope located at ESO's La Silla Observatory, reveals a large number of the tens of thousands of stars present in the cluster, showing the splendor of the Milky Way background.

Astronomers have also been analyzed separately many of the stars of this cluster, using various instruments that are part of the Very Large Telescope (VLT). By separating the starlight in its component colors, they can measure the age and chemical composition of the same.

New results from the stars of Messier 4 are amazing. The stars that are part of the globular clusters are very old and therefore not expected to have a large amount of heavy chemical elements [1]. This was precisely what was found, however, one of the stars recently analyzed also detected a much greater amount of lithium (rare element belonging to the group of lighter elements) than expected. The correctness of this battery is a mystery. Normally this element degrades gradually over billions of years, over the life of a star, but this particular star appears to the secret of eternal youth. Somehow, it has been able to preserve its original lithium levels, or found a way to increase their own levels of recent generation lithium.

This image gives a panoramic WFI cluster, and its abundant environment. A more detailed complementary view of the central region only, taken from the Hubble Space Telescope (joint project of NASA and ESA), was also released this week as part of a series of images of the week of the telescope.

Notes

[1] Most chemical elements heavier than helium originate in stars and dispersed into the interstellar medium in the final moments of its existence. These material new chemical elements passed later to form the building blocks for future generations of stars. As a result, it was found that the very old stars (like those found in globular clusters) were generated before significant quantities of chemicals were released, have a lower abundance of heavy elements when compared to stars as the Sun, which formed at later stages.

Additional information

The year 2012 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the European Southern Observatory (ESO). ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organization in Europe and the astronomical observatory in the world's most productive land. Back by 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. ESO carries out an ambitious program focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful astronomical observation facilities on land, enabling astronomers to make important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a key role in promoting and organizing cooperation in astronomical research. ESO operates three facilities in Chile observation unique in the world: La Silla, Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the most advanced optical observatory in the world and two survey telescopes. The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA Survey Telescope for Astronomy Optical and Infrared) that tracks the sky at infrared wavelengths, is the largest survey telescope in the world and the VLT Survey Telescope (VST, Survey Telescope VLT) is the largest telescope designed to track exclusively the skies in visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary astronomical telescope ALMA called, the largest astronomical project today. ESO is currently planning the construction and development of an optical telescope / infrared 40 meters. The E-ELT (European Extremely Large Telescope) will be "the world's biggest eye on the sky".