Hubble releases image of star cluster with over 500,000 stars
6 reported
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope released a new image of the globular cluster Messier 3, which contains more than 500,000 stars. The image was shared in celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary. Messier 3 is one of the largest globular clusters in the Milky Way and contains more than 240 RR Lyrae variable stars, more than any other known globular cluster in the galaxy. The cluster also holds around 70 identified candidates for blue straggler stars, an unusual class that appears younger than surrounding stars. Astronomers suspect the cluster may have formed from a merger of two globular clusters that belonged to the same dwarf galaxy before it was absorbed by the Milky Way. The image is part of a Hubble Treasury program surveying about half of the Milky Way’s known globular clusters.
What’s reported
NASA released the Hubble image on July 4, 2026, for the U.S. 250th anniversary.
The image shows Messier 3, a globular cluster with more than 500,000 stars.
Messier 3 contains over 240 RR Lyrae variable stars, more than any other known globular cluster in the Milky Way.
The cluster has around 70 identified candidates for blue straggler stars.
Astronomers suspect M3 may have formed from a merger of two globular clusters from a dwarf galaxy absorbed by the Milky Way.
The image is part of a Hubble Treasury program surveying roughly half of the Milky Way’s known globular clusters.
Sources: ScienceDaily
