The Quintuplet Star Cluster
Explanation:
Bright clusters of stars form and disperse near the
center of our Galaxy.
Four million years ago the Quintuplet Cluster,
pictured above, formed and is now slowly dispersing.
The Quintuplet Cluster is located within 100
light-years of the
Galactic center,
and is home to the brightest star yet cataloged in our Galaxy: the
Pistol Star.
Objects near our
Galactic center
are usually hidden from view by opaque
dust.
This
recently-released picture was able to capture the cluster in
infrared light, though, with the
NICMOS
camera onboard the orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope.
The young
Quintuplet Cluster is one of the most massive
open clusters yet discovered,
but still much less massive than the ancient
globular clusters
that orbit in the distant halo.
Some of the bright white stars
visible above may be on the
verge
of blowing themselves up in a spectacular
supernova.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
