The Hubble Space Telescope has been spending the past few decades being our favorite space photographer. Through the years, it has captured awe-inspiring photos of nebulae and galaxies. Aside from these, the space telescope has also taken stunning photos of star clusters.
You might have seen some of its photos of star clusters here on iTech Post. Have you ever wondered, though, what exactly star clusters are?
In this article, we will answer that question and even show examples of past photos that the Hubble Space Telescope has snapped.
Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get started!
What are Star Clusters?
According to an article by Space, star clusters are "groups of hundreds to millions of stars that provide astronomers crucial insight into stellar evolution through comparisons of stars' ages and compositions."
The article notes that star clusters are not galaxies despite the fact that both are gravitationally bound. Galaxies are typically larger than star clusters and have stars of different ages and compositions. Stars that part of the same star cluster often have the same age and material.
There are three types of star clusters: globular clusters, open clusters, and stellar associations.
Globular clusters have been described by the Space article as "thousands to millions of stars form a spherical shape with a bright, dense core." Stars in this particular type of star clusters are some of the oldest stars there are in space.
Open clusters, which are also known as galactic clusters, have no distinct shape and its stars are loosely bound together. They also have few stars compared to globular clusters, having just hundreds or a few thousands of stars.
Last and certainly not the least, stellar associations are the smallest of the three as they commonly have about tens to hundreds of stars only. These stars are similar in age and move in the same direction.
Related Article : Hubble Space Telescope Adds Glittery Snap of Globular Cluster to NGC 6558 to Its Collection
Photos of Star Clusters Taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
So how exactly do star clusters look like? Well, thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, we have an idea just how beautiful and colorful they could be.
Here are some examples:
NGC 330
An example of an open cluster, the NGC 330 is located around 180,000 light-years away from Earth. According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it can be found inside the Small Megallanic Cloud.
NGC 3201
The NGC 3201 is a globular cluster that was discovered in 1826, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). It is one of the 150 globular clusters that can be found in the Milky Way galaxy.
NGC 6717
The NGC 6717 is a globular cluster located more than 20,000 light-years away from our planet. Specifically, it is in the constellation Sagittarius, according to NASA.
