Topic: Starburst Cluster Shows Celestial Fireworks

[sam]

Like a July 4 fireworks display, a young, glittering collection of stars looks like an aerial burst. The cluster is surrounded by clouds of interstellar gas and dust—the raw material for new star formation. The nebula, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina, contains a central cluster of huge, hot stars, called NGC 3603. Star clusters like NGC 3603 provide important clues to understanding the origin of massive star formation in the early, distant universe.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2010/22/




Credit: NASA, ESA, R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), F. Paresce (National Institute for Astrophysics, Bologna, Italy), E. Young (Universities Space Research Association/Ames Research Center), the WFC3 Science Oversight Committee, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

[Simon]

Great pic!

[Clive]

A beautiful picture Sam.  Our Sun was once a member of such a dazzling star cluster some 4.5 billion years ago.  It was one of the fainter members and all its much brighter siblings have long since "burnt out".   Many of the stars from the cluster can still be seen in the sky and include Sirius and the 'Plough' stars.