Star clusters near the center of the galaxy

Penetrating 25, 000 light-years of obscuring dust and myriad stars, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided the clearest view yet of a pair of the largest young clusters of stars inside our Milky Way galaxy, located less than 100 light-years from the very centre of the Galaxy. Having the equivalent mass greater than 10, 000 stars like our sun, the monster clusters are ten times larger than typical young star clusters scattered throughout our Milky Way. Both clusters are destined to be ripped apart in just a few million years by gravitational tidal forces in the galaxy's core. But in the brief time they are around, they shine more brightly than any other star cluster in the Galaxy.

Credit:

About the Image

NASA press release
Id:opo9930a
Type:Observation
Release date:16 September 1999, 15:00
Size:3001 x 2401 px

About the Object

Name:Arches Cluster, IRAS 17430-2848, Quintuplet Cluster
Type:Unspecified : Star : Grouping : Cluster
Category:Star Clusters

Image Formats

r.titleLarge JPEG
1.2 MB
r.titleScreensize JPEG
301.8 KB

Wallpapers

r.title1024x768
353.9 KB
r.title1280x1024
484.4 KB
r.title1600x1200
650.6 KB
r.title1920x1200
524.5 KB
r.title2048x1536
577.6 KB

Also see our


Privacy policy Accelerated by CDN77