Sagittarius Star Cloud
Explanation:
Stars come in all different colors.
The color of a star indicates its
surface temperature,
an important property used to assign each star a
spectral type.
Most stars in the
above Sagittarius Star Cloud
are orange or red and relatively faint, as our
Sun would appear.
The
blue and greenish stars are hotter,
many being relatively young and massive.
The bright red stars are cool
Red Giants, bloated stars once similar to our
Sun that have entered a more advanced stage of
evolution.
Stars of the Sagittarius Cloud lie towards the
center of our Galaxy -
tantalizing cosmic jewels viewed through a rift in the
dark, pervasive, interstellar
dust.
This famous stellar grouping houses some of the oldest stars known.
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.
