Omega Centauri: As can be seen from this biggest and probably most brilliant of all globular clusters, these objects are tightly bound groups of stars, which are therefore arranged within a globe. They are located in a halo around our Milky Way and are among the oldest objects we know: Some of them are around 10 billion years old. The medium distances between their stars are in the light year range, often even much less. Imagine living on a planet of one of Omega Centauri´s 10 million stars: What a sight at night! If there is a night?

Please have also a look at the Hi-Res version with its incredibly dense star field.
For a wider field of view click here.

The image was taken at the IAS astronomical site at the Hakos farm in Namibia.