A crazy sequence in high definition, a journey up to 17,300 light years from Earth to discover the globular cluster M55
This video begins with a wide view of the spectacular our Galaxy. Little by little we approach an apparently blurry point which turns out to be a spectacular globular cluster, Messier 55. In the final sequence we see a very detailed infrared view of M55 taken by the VISTA telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, Chile. Enjoy this journey up to 17,300 light-years from Earth. Here is the video:
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Insights into the Milky Way
All the stars in the Milky Way orbit around a supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy, which is estimated to be four million times more massive than our own. Luckily, it’s a safe distance from Earth, about 28,000 light-years. Our galaxy (100,000 light-years in diameter) is one of countless billions in the universe, each with millions, or more frequently billions, of its own stars. The Milky Way winds along a one-galactic orbit average speed of approximately 828,000 km/h. Our solar system takes about 230 million years to complete one revolution around the galactic center. The Milky Way is part of the Local Groupa “neighborhood” of about 10 million light years, made up of over 30 galaxies that are gravitationally linked to each other. Aside from our own galaxy, the largest of this group is Andromedawhich is approaching the Milky Way and between creating a single huge galaxy. We just have to wait, it will be an incredible show visible in the night sky.
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