This wide-field image showcases 47 Tucanae (NGC 104), one of the brightest and most massive globular clusters in the Milky Way, rising over the dark skies of Warrumbungle National Park, Australia. Located about 13,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana, 47 Tuc contains millions of ancient stars densely packed into a luminous core that shines with a golden hue.

Surrounding the cluster are countless more distant stars and galaxies, offering a striking sense of scale between our galaxy’s halo and the deep cosmic background. The remarkable sharpness of this image reveals faint globulars and background galaxies, hinting at the vast structures that lie far beyond the Milky Way’s stellar outskirts.