Sunny Priyan
Like a glittering swarm of bees, the stars of NGC 6440 shine brightly in this stunning Hubble image from 28,000 light-years away.
Globular clusters like NGC 6440 are roughly spherical, tightly packed, collections of stars that live on the outskirts of galaxies.
NGC 6440’s dense stars are spaced about one light-year apart, yet can be as tightly packed as our entire solar system.
This image combines data from five Hubble programs, four focused on pulsars- rotating neutron stars emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation.
The beam appears as a short burst or pulse as the star rotates. Pulsars spin extremely fast.
Astronomers have measured pulsars spinning at 716 rotations per second, with a theoretical speed of 1,500 before losing energy or breaking apart.