As astronomers keep on looking for signs of life beyond our planet, one place in the Milky Way seems to be completely inhospitable, reports Phys.org.
A new study by scientists from the University of California in Riverside (UCR) has examined the potential to host life of Omega Centauri, the largest globular cluster in the entire galaxy, and found that it has virtually none.
The research, due for publication in the Astrophysical Journal and currently available on the pre-print server arXiv, takes an in-depth look at direct observations of the cluster's core, taken with the Hubble Space Telescope.
By calculating the span of the Habitable Zone around these core stars, the scientists uncovered that Omega Centauri doesn't have the right stellar environment to support the development of life.
What Is Omega Centauri?
As the Inquisitr previously reported, globular clusters are ancient collections of stars bound in a spherical shape by the strong gravitational attraction between them.
Home to millions of stars, globular clusters go back almost to the galaxy's early days and are very rare. For instance, the Milky Way only has less than 200 globular clusters, the largest of which is Omega Centauri.
Located 15,800 light-years away in the Centaurus constellation, this massive star cluster is 150 light-years wide. Made up of nearly 10 million stars, Omega Centauri can be seen in the sky with the unaided eye and has been frequently scoured by Hubble.