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Credit: Adam Block
(NOAO)
Explanation:
Star clusters are a
swarm of complex motions.
The stars that compose
globular clusters and many
open clusters all orbit the cluster center,
occasionally interacting, gravitationally,
with a close-passing star.
The orbits of stars around the cluster are typically
not as circular as the
orbits of planets in our
solar system.
Cluster stars frequently fall more
directly toward the center and many times trace out unusual and
complex loops.
The vast space inside a cluster result in
stars colliding only rarely.
The above computer animation,
derived from a type of computer code called an
N-body simulation, shows 100 identical stars in a
time-lapse movie where hundreds of years pass in one second.
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
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: