... Open Cluster NGC 290: A Stellar Jewel Box . ... Like gems in a jewel box, though, the stars of open cluster NGC 290 glitter in a beautiful display of brightness and color. ... Open clusters of stars are younger, contain few stars, and contain a much higher fraction of blue stars than do globular clusters of stars. ... NGC 290 and other open clusters are good laboratories for studying how stars of different masses evolve , since all the open cluster's stars were born at about the same time. ...