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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA, and
J. MaÌz ApellÀniz
(IoAoA Spain);
Acknowledgment:
N. Smith
(U. Arizona)
Explanation:
Why does star cluster Trumpler 14 have so many bright stars?
Because it is so young.
Many cluster stars have formed only in the past
5 million years and are so hot they emit
detectable X-rays.
In older star clusters,
most stars this young have already died -- typically
exploding in a supernova -- leaving behind stars that are fainter and redder.
Trumpler 14 spans about 40 light years and lies about 9,000
light years away on the edge of the famous
Carina Nebula.
A discerning eye can spot two unusual objects in
this detailed 2006 image of Trumpler 14 by the
Hubble Space Telescope.
First, a dark cloud
just left of center may be a planetary system trying to
form before being destroyed by the
energetic winds of
Trumpler 14's massive stars.
Second is
the arc
at the bottom left, which one hypothesis holds is the
supersonic shock wave
of a fast star ejected 100,000 years ago from a
completely different star cluster.
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A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star cluster
Publications with words: star cluster
See also: