TRAPPIST first light image of Omega Centauri

The globular cluster Omega Centauri was one of the targets observed for first light of the TRAPPIST national telescope at La Silla. The cluster contains as many as ten million stars. This image, 20 arcminutes across, shows only the central parts of Omega Centauri. It is made by combining data obtained through three filters (B, V and R).

TRAPPIST (TRAnsiting Planets and PlanetesImals Small Telescope) is devoted to the study of planetary systems through two approaches: the detection and characterisation of planets located outside the Solar System (exoplanets) and the study of comets orbiting around the Sun. The 60-cm national telescope is operated from a control room in Liège, Belgium, 12 000 km away.