Sparkling Star Cluster NGC 2660 Seen by Hubble Space Telescope

Since Hubble Space Telescope was launched and deployed in April 1990, scientists have used it to observe the most distant stars and galaxies. One of these cosmic wonders that Hubble captured was the image of the star cluster NGC 2660.

Star clusters are groups of hundreds to millions of stars that provide crucial information about stellar evolution through comparisons of their age and compositions. Take a look at the sparkling star cluster NGC 2660 below as taken by the Hubble Space Telescope:

Star Cluster NGC 2660

According to NASA, NGC 2660 is located in constellation Vela and is best viewed in the southern skies. The glittering group of stars, shining through the darkness of space like sparks left behind by fireworks is an open star cluster that contains tens to a few hundreds of stars closely bound by gravitational forces.

Stars in an open cluster form from the same region of gas and dust, which means they have several similar characteristics. for example, these stars could have the same age and chemical composition.

Moreover, open clusters are easier to study because astronomers can easily distinguish them from individual stars, unlike globular clusters that are denser and more tightly packed. Stars in an open cluster can be young or old, and they may disperse after a few million years into irregular galaxies where they were born.

These stars are also surrounded by "diffraction spikes," as seen in the image taken by Hubble. These spikes appear when the glow from the bright points of light reflects off of the secondary mirror support of Hubble.

In the photo, the bright red object to the left with the prominent diffraction spikes is only a foreground star that does not belong to star cluster NGC 2660. Scientists controlling the space telescope are observing the open cluster as part of a program to study how old are the white dwarf stars in this kind of star cluster.

Galaxies Vs. Star Clusters

Astronomer Aaron M. Geller from Northwestern University told Space.com that star clusters form out of molecular clouds, which are large interstellar regions of gas and dust. The densest of those molecular stars become stars in which some disperse after their creation, while others just form close enough together because they are gravitationally bound to each other and live as a star cluster.

But it is important to note that star clusters are not galaxies, which are also composed of stars gravitationally bound to each other. Assistant professor Jason Steffen from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas said that if there is dark matter in the mix, then it is likely a galaxy.

Another difference between a galaxy and a star cluster is that the former are like cities where the latter lives in. Galaxies can contain hundreds or thousands of star clusters, molecular clouds, and dark matter. The Australia Telescope National Facility said that stars in star clusters are roughly the same age and made from similar materials given that they likely come from the same molecular cloud.

There are three main types of star clusters: globular clusters, open clusters, and stellar associations. All three differ in properties, which provides information for scientists to study.