I've posted lots of pictures of globular clusters in the past, but this new one is something special. And not just because it's stunningly beautiful... which it is:
[Click to spheroidenate, or grab the massively embiggened 3850x3850 pixel version.] This is Hubble's view of NGC 7006, a relatively faint cluster of a hundred or so thousand stars located in the constellation of Delphinus, the dolphin. It appears relatively faint and small as globulars go, but as it turns out it's a very, very interesting object indeed. Why? Distance. NGC 7006 is one of the most remote globular clusters orbiting the Milky Way; it's currently 135,000 light years away - 1.35 quintillion (1,350,000,000,000,000,000) kilometers distant. For comparison, the Milky Way itself is about 100,000 light years across. Not only that, but NGC 7006 is still heading out, increasing that distance, and it's not exactly taking its time: it's moving away at ...
