Star Cluster NGC 6624—Age: 11.5-12.5 billion years old | Gemini South Telescope

Star Cluster NGC 6624—Age: 11.5-12.5 billion years old | Gemini South Telescope

This Gemini Observatory GeMS image of the ancient star cluster NGC 6624 in the constellation Sagittarius reveals individual stars to the cluster’s core. The Cluster’s age as determined with this study is between 11.5-12.5 billion years old. This confirms that it formed when the Universe was only a fraction of its current age of about 13.8 billion years. 

Learn about GeMS: 
https://www.gemini.edu/instrumentation/gems/

Gemini South Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-south/

Credits: Gemini Observatory/Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA)
Composite Color Image: Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage
Release Date: Oct. 12, 2016

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