This image may not be used by or to promote the arms, nuclear power or tobacco industries or any religious organisation, or in any discriminatory way,

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This image may not be used by or to promote the arms, nuclear power or tobacco industries or any religious organisation, or in any discriminatory way, or to imply the endorsement by ESO of any product, service or activity Globular star cluster M4 (NGC 6121). Globular star clusters are large, densely-packed balls of old stars. M4 is about 75 light years across. At about 7000 light years away, it is among the two closest globular star clusters. M4 is in the constellation Scorpius, part of the spherical halo of globular star clusters around the Milky Way. This image, a combined optical and infrared view, was obtained by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) sensor on the MPG/ESO telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory. Image published in 2012.

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Photo credit: © EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1, , 4, 2012, 6121, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, bound, closest, cluster, dense, eso, field, globular, gravitationally, imager, imaging, infrared, ir, m4, messier, mpg-eso, multiple, nebulae, ngc, optical, scorpius, single, space, star, stars, survey, telescope, universe, visible, wfi, wide