A chandelier of stars hangs in the constellation Sagittarius, and NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured it in new detail. The object is a globular cluster called NGC 6723, a dense ball of thousands of stars bound together by gravity. It sits roughly 28,000 light years from Earth, in the southern sky.
A ball of stars older than most
NGC 6723 is not a young cluster. Astronomers classify it as a globular cluster, meaning its stars formed together early in the universe’s history. The cluster holds many thousands of stars, packed tightly at its center and spreading outward. Hubble’s image shows bright blue stars concentrated in the core, while orange stars dot the edges. Some stars appear as tiny points, others as glowing orbs with four spikes, depending on their position in the foreground or background.
Why this cluster matters to astronomers
Globular clusters like NGC 6723 are natural laboratories for studying how stars evolve. Because all the stars in a cluster formed at roughly the same time, scientists can compare stars of different masses and stages of life without the variable of age. The cluster’s location in Sagittarius, a constellation rich with deep sky objects, makes it a frequent target for telescopes. Hubble’s sharp vision allows researchers to resolve individual stars even in the crowded center, something ground based telescopes struggle to do.
The cluster was first cataloged in the 19th century, but Hubble’s view reveals details invisible to earlier instruments. The image, released by NASA in 2025, shows the cluster in visible and near infrared light. The blue stars are hotter and younger in astronomical terms, while the orange stars are cooler and older. Their mix gives the cluster a jewel like appearance.
A reminder of the universe’s scale
NGC 6723 is one of about 150 known globular clusters orbiting the Milky Way. Each one holds hundreds of thousands of stars, and together they trace the galaxy’s ancient history. Hubble has observed many of them over its decades in orbit. This latest image adds another piece to that long record. The cluster itself does not change quickly on human timescales, but each new observation refines what scientists know about how stars live and die. For now, the chandelier hangs steady in the dark.
