The Hubble Space Telescope has shared a new image of the globular cluster NGC 6544, as announced by NASA.
This tightly bound swarm of stars sits about 8,000 light-years from Earth. Globular clusters like NGC 6544 are among the oldest known structures in the Milky Way, containing tens of thousands of stars packed into a relatively small region and offering a snapshot of the galaxy’s early history.
The recently released image was produced from observations using two instruments on the Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field Camera 3. Pulsars are compact stellar remnants that emit radiation in regular, clocklike bursts. Contemporary models describe pulsars as ultra-dense, rapidly spinning neutron stars with intense magnetic fields misaligned with their rotation axis. Narrow beams of radiation sweep outward and, when these beams cross Earth, they appear as rhythmic flashes.
A second set of observations aimed to detect visible counterparts to sources originally identified through X-ray data. Comparing visible-light features with X-ray detections helps researchers piece together the life cycle and evolution of NGC 6544, shedding light on the cluster’s past and its future trajectory within the Milky Way.
In a separate note, researchers highlighted a recent archaeological discovery in Cordoba: an ancient Roman amphora inscribed with poems by the poet Virgil was uncovered, offering a vivid reminder of the long thread of discovery that connects past and present scientific inquiry across cultures.