MOSFIRE image of very old stars

This MOSFIRE image from the Keck I telescope shows the high quality of the optics of the new camera. The image is a globular cluster of very old stars, known as NGC5053, which is more than 53,000 light years away, in the halo of the Milky Way. In the constellation of Coma Berenices, it is more sparse than most globular clusters and lacks the usual central concentration of stars.


(Image credit: Ian S. McLean/W.M. Keck Observatory)