Thread: Ngc300
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Old 25-09-2011, 05:27 PM
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madbadgalaxyman (Robert)
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Rich,

you mention "a faint cluster of stars in the nucleus", but what I actually mean by the central Nuclear Star Cluster is the actual "star-like" object that is seen at the very centre of this galaxy.
(I believe that it is visible in your image)

This central "star" seen in this galaxy is actually the central Star Cluster, though this object is not actually the nucleus of this galaxy....... In recent years, the word "nucleus" has come to mean the tiny solar-system-sized body that is usually found at the very centre of a galaxy. (responsible for Seyfert activity, plasma jets, etc.)
(Neither is one of these nuclear star clusters an extended bulge; bulges are extended spheroidal structures of much greater spatial extent)

Here is part of a ground-based, B+V+R + H-alpha
image from ESO press release number eso0221 , showing the
central parts of NGC 300:

Click image for larger version

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Here is a reduced-resolution version of an image from the Hubble Space Telescope and its ACS instrument, in three bands approximating photometric B and V and I.

Click image for larger version

Name:	N0300_B+V+I__with HST ACS.jpg
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As can be seen, the Very Evident central star cluster is still somewhat starlike, even with the Hubble Space Telescope.
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