Gemini Uncovers 'Lost City' of Stars

Gemini GMOS deep-field of NGC 300 revealing individual stars down to about magnitude 27 (3 sigma) in two r-band images that each have a combined exposure/integration of 8,100 seconds (2.25 hours). Close examination also reveals that this image contains thousands of individual distant galaxies well beyond NGC 300. The Gemini images were obtained under excellent conditions that were necessary to obtain such deep images; image quality is ~ 0.6" FWHM. Gemini inset field is approximately 5.5' x 10.5'. (The small dark areas in the Gemini images are shadows from instrument "guide-probes.")