What is the nature of the path traced by the Earth across the Universe?
The path of the Earth across the Universe is in an elaborate series of loops and whirling spirals. A person on the Earth’s surface would move in a path governed by:
- Rotation of the Earth about its axis at 460 meters/sec at Equator.
- Earth’s rotation about the barycentre of the Earth-Moon System.
- Earth’s rotation about the Sun at 30 km/sec.
- The sun’s rotation about the Milky Way Galaxy at 220 km/sec.
- The Milky Way Galaxy’s rotation about the Local Group of Galaxies (LGOG) towards the constellation Hercules.
- The rotation of the LGOG about the Virgo Super Cluster of Galaxies (VSCG) towards the constellation Southern Cross.
- The rotation of VSCG about the Universe.
Of the above, only items 1 to 4 are clearly known. Items 5 and 6 are still speculative while item 7 is still unknown.
What are open star clusters?
They are clusters of stars. In galaxies, the stars are densely packed together, whereas in open star clusters the stars are not densely packed together but only loosely associated.
What are globular star clusters?
They are a spherically shaped cluster of stars. Typically, it contains about ten thousand to ten million stars apparently concentrated towards the centre.
Are globular star clusters visible to the naked eye?
Only two clusters are visible to the naked eye, through more than 120 can be observed with instruments.
