Globular Cluster 47 Tucanae
Stars come in bunches.
Of the over 200
globular star clusters
that orbit the center of our
Milky Way Galaxy,
47 Tucanae is the second brightest
globular cluster
(behind Omega Centauri).
Known to some affectionately as
47 Tuc or NGC 104, it is only visible from the
Southern Hemisphere.
Light takes about 20,000 years to reach us from
47 Tuc which can be seen near the
SMC in the constellation of
Tucana.
Red Giant stars are particularly easy to see
in this picture.
The dynamics of stars near the center of 47 Tuc are not well understood,
particularly why there are so few
binary systems there.