#ngc6388

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NGC 6388

NGC 6388 is a globular cluster located in the Milky Way towards the constellation Scorpius. While only middle aged in terms of globular clusters, NGC 6388 is still over 10 billion years old. It is thought to possibly contain an intermediate black hole at its center.

Optical observations suggested the possibility of a central black hole, and at one point X-ray observations were thought to be related. However, further observations showed that the X-rays did not originate from the black hole, but rather a broken planet being destroyed by a white dwarf star. When a planet drifts to close to a white dwarf, the tidal forces rip it apart. As the pieces fall in to the star, they heat up and release X-rays.

Image from ESA, information from Chandra.

[brightestofcentaurus]

NGC 6388

NGC 6388 is a globular cluster located about 43,000 light years away towards the constellation Scorpius. At the center of the globular cluster lies a black hole of intermediate mass. Recently, astronomers noticed an X-ray source that they first thought was coming from the black hole

However, further oservations revealed that the source was not the black hole, but rather the destruction of a planet by a white dwarf star. When a planet is dragged to a globular cluster by the cluster’s gravity, it may come too close to a white dwarf star. These stars have strong gravitational forces, as so a planet drifting too close can be ripped apart.

Image from ESA, information from Chandra.

[brightestofcentaurus]

NGC 6388

NGC 6388 is a globular star cluster located about 43,000 light years away towards the constellation Scorpius. At its center lies an intermediate mass black hole, with a mass several hundreds times that of our Sun. However, the cluster also contains another X-ray source that is not a black hole.

NGC 6388′s mystery X-ray source is probably the result of the tidal disruption of a planet by a white dwarf star. In essence, the dense concentration of stars in a globular cluster pulls a planet away from its parent star. When the planet passes too close to a white dwarf star, the strong tidal forces and gravity of the star rip the planet apart. The remains heat up and glow in X-rays as the material falls into the white dwarf.

Image from ESA, information from Chandra.

[brightestofcentaurus]

NGC 6388

NGC 6388 is a globular star cluster located about 35,000 light years away towards the constellation Scorpius. The cluster is over 10 billion years old, as all known globular clusters are, but is still middle aged for such an object.

Globular clusters often contain blue stragglers, stars that retain a young appearance despite advancing years. They are thought to be caused by stars colliding or accreting material from another, gaining the extra mass to continue nuclear fusion. Astronomers have found that globular clusters of similar ages can have very different distributions of blue stragglers, suggesting that globular clusters age at different rates.

Image and information from ESA.