Panning across the giant elliptical galaxy Centaurus A (NGC 5128) and its strange globular clusters

This close-up video sequence shows the huge elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 (also known as Centaurus A). This object is the closest such galaxy to the Earth, at a distance of about 12 million light-years. Observations with ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile have discovered a new class of “dark” globular star clusters around this galaxy. These are marked in red. They appear very similar to other globulars around this galaxy but contain much more mass. More information and download options: