Resembling an opulent diamond tapestry, this image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope shows a glittering star cluster that contains a collection of some of the brightest stars seen in our Milky Way galaxy. Called Trumpler 14, it is located 8,000 light-years away in the Carina Nebula, a huge star-formation region. Because the cluster is only 500,000 years old, it has one of the highest concentrations of massive, luminous stars in the entire Milky Way. (The small, dark knot left of center is a nodule of gas laced with dust, and seen in silhouette.)
Diamonds are forever, but these blue-white stars are not. They are burning their hydrogen fuel so ferociously they will explode as supernovae in just a few million years. The combination of outflowing stellar "winds" and, ultimately, supernova blast waves will carve out cavities in nearby clouds of gas and dust. These fireworks will kick-start the beginning of a new generation of stars in an ongoing cycle of star birth and death.
This composite image of Trumpler 14 was made with data taken in 2005-2006 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Blue, visible, and infrared broadband filters combine with filters that isolate hydrogen and nitrogen emission from the glowing gas surrounding the open cluster.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and J. Maíz Apellániz (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, Spain);Acknowledgment: N. Smith (University of Arizona)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Trumpler 14 |
| Object Description | Open Cluster in the Carina Nebula |
| R.A. Position | 10h 43m 55.92s |
| Dec. Position | -59° 33' 0.0" |
| Constellation | Carina |
| Distance | 8,000 light-years (2,450 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HST data were taken from proposals : N. Smith (University of Arizona), J. Bally (University of Colorado, Boulder), N. Walborn (STScI), and J. Morse (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute); and : J. Maíz Apellániz (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, Spain), N. Walborn and E. Nelan (STScI), N. Morrell (Carnegie Institution of Washington), and V. Niemela (Universidad Nacional de La Plata). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | July 17, 2005, and July 29, 2006 |
| Filters | F435W (B), F550M (V), F658N (H-alpha+[N II]), and F850LP (SDSS z) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS/WFC instrument. Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F435W (B) Green: F550M (V) Red: F658N (H-alpha+[N II]) Purple: F850LP (SDSS z) |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
