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Stars and Star Clusters
Celestial Fireworks  Resembling the puffs of smoke and sparks from a summer fireworks display these delicate filaments are actually sheets of debris from a stellar explosion in a neighboring galaxy. Denoted N 49, or DEM L 190, this remnant is from a massive star that died in a supernova blast whose light would have reached Earth thousands of years ago. This filamentary material will eventually be recycled into building new generations of stars. Our own Sun and planets are constructed from similar debris of supernovae that exploded in the Milky Way billions of years ago. Too Close for Comfort  This view of the core of one of the nearest globular star clusters, called NGC 6397, resembles a treasure chest of glittering jewels. The cluster is located 8,200 light-years away in the constellation Ara. Here, the stars are jam-packed together. The stellar density is about a million times greater than in our Sun's stellar neighborhood. The stars are only a few light-weeks apart, while the nearest star to our Sun is over four light-years away. A Turbulent Neighborhood Near an Eruptive Star  A small portion of the rough-and-tumble neighborhood of swirling dust and gas near one of the most massive and eruptive stars in our galaxy. This portion of the entire Carina Nebula, which has a diameter of over 200 light-years. Located 8,000 light-years from Earth, the nebula can be seen in the southern sky with the naked eye.
A Swarm of Ancient Stars  This stellar swarm is M80 (NGC 6093), one of the densest of the 147 known globular star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. Located about 28, 000 light-years from Earth, M80 contains hundreds of thousands of stars, all held together by their mutual gravitational attraction. Globular clusters are particularly useful for studying stellar evolution, since all of the stars in the cluster have the same age (about 15 billion years), but cover a range of stellar masses. Double Cluster  The Double Cluster NGC 1850 found in one of our neighbouring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an eye-catching object. It is a young globular-like star cluster - a type of object unknown in our own Milky Way galaxy. Moreover, NGC 1850 is surrounded by a pattern of filamentary nebulosity thought to have been created during supernova blasts. Globular Cluster M22  M22, also known as NGC 6656, is the brightest globular cluster visible from the Northern hemisphere and it is an easy naked eye object. The 12 to 14 billion year old cluster is about 8,500 light years distant and about 65 light years across. This view measures about 3 light years across.
The constellation Sagittarius  The constellation Sagittarius (the Archer), home to the globular cluster M22 (in the center), is one of the best known constellations in the sky. Sagittarius contains a large number of famous nebulae and star clusters due to the presence of some of the richest star fields of the Milky Way. The very center of the Milky Way lies in the direction of Sagittarius. Some of the brighter stars in Sagittarius are known as the Teapot. Blaze of Stars in an Old Galaxy's Core  The central region of the small galaxy NGC 1705 blazes with the light of thousands of young and old stars. Astronomers call NGC 1705 a dwarf irregular, that is, a small galaxy lacking regular structure. Knowing how dwarf irregular galaxies evolve tells us a lot about galaxy formation and evolution. Young, blue, hot stars are strongly concentrated toward the galaxy's center. Older, red, cooler stars are more spread out. This galaxy has been forming new stars throughout its lifetime, but a burst of star-formation activity occurred as recently as 26 to 31 million years ago. This 'starburst' is responsible for many of the young stars on the outskirts of this galaxy's core as well as the central giant star cluster. Fireworks of Star Formation Light Up a Galaxy  This image shows episodes of star formation that are occurring across the face of the nearby galaxy NGC 4214. Located some 13 million light-years from Earth, NGC 4214 is currently forming clusters of new stars from its interstellar gas and dust.
He2-90  This Hubble picture shows a centrally bright object with jets, appearing like strings of beads, emanating from both sides of center. (The other streaks of light running diagonally from He2-90 are artificial effects of the telescope's optical system.) Each jet possesses at least six bright clumps of gas, which are speeding along at rates estimated to be at least 375,000 miles an hour. Globular Cluster M4  Peering deep inside a cluster of several hundred thousand stars, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope uncovered the oldest burned-out stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Located in the globular cluster M4, these small, dying stars called white dwarfs are giving astronomers a fresh reading on one of the biggest questions in astronomy: How old is the universe? The ancient white dwarfs in M4 are about 12 to 13 billion years old. After accounting for the time it took the cluster to form after the big bang, astronomers found that the age of the white dwarfs agrees with previous estimates for the universe's age. Star V838 Monocerotis  In January 2002, a moderately dim star in the constellation Monoceros, the Unicorn, suddenly became 600,000 times more luminous than our Sun. This made it temporarily the brightest star in our Milky Way. The light from this eruption created a unique phenomenon known as a 'light echo' when it reflected off dust shells around the star.
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