Hubble Uncovering the Secrets of the Quintuplet Cluster
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coloradospacenews.com Hubble Uncovering The Secrets Of The Quintuplet Cluster The huge number of massive young stars in the Quintuplet Cluster is clearly captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. Image credit: ESA/NASA July 17, 2015 – The Quintuplet Cluster gained its name due to its five brightest stars, but it is home to hundreds more. The cluster is located close to the Arches Cluster and is just 100 light-years from the center of our galaxy. The cluster’s proximity to the dust at the center of the galaxy means that much of its visible light is blocked, which helped to keep the cluster unknown until its discovery in 1990, when it was revealed by infrared observations. Infrared images of the cluster, like the one shown here, allow us to see through the obscuring dust to the hot stars in the cluster.
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Secrets of the Quintuplet Cluster
Transcript of Hubble Uncovering the Secrets of the Quintuplet Cluster
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coloradospacenews.com
Hubble Uncovering The Secrets Of TheQuintuplet Cluster
The huge number of massive young stars in the Quintuplet Cluster isclearly captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. Imagecredit: ESA/NASA
July 17, 2015 The Quintuplet Cluster gained its name due to itsfive brightest stars, but it is home to hundreds more. The cluster islocated close to the Arches Cluster and is just 100 light-years fromthe center of our galaxy. The clusters proximity to the dust at thecenter of the galaxy means that much of its visible light is blocked,which helped to keep the cluster unknown until its discovery in1990, when it was revealed by infrared observations. Infraredimages of the cluster, like the one shown here, allow us to seethrough the obscuring dust to the hot stars in the cluster.
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The Quintuplet Cluster hosts two extremely rare luminous bluevariable stars: the Pistol Star and the lesser known V4650 Sgr. Ifyou were to draw a line horizontally through the center of this imagefrom left to right, you could see the Pistol Star hovering just abovethe line about one third of the way along it. The Pistol Star is one ofthe most luminous known stars in the Milky Way and takes its namefrom the shape of the Pistol Nebula that it illuminates, but which isnot visible in this infrared image. The exact age and future of thePistol Star are uncertain, but it is expected to end in a supernova oreven a hypernova in one to three million years.
The cluster also contains a number of red supergiants. These starsare among the largest in the galaxy and are burning their fuel at anincredible speed, meaning they will have a very short lifetime. Theirpresence suggests an average cluster age of nearly four millionyears. At the moment these stars are on the verge of exploding assupernovae. During their spectacular deaths they will release vastamounts of energy which, in turn, will heat the material dust andgas between the other stars.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of internationalcooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency.NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland,manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute(STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI isoperated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Researchin Astronomy, Inc., in Washington. All of the instruments currentlyoperating on Hubble were built by Ball Aerospace & TechnologiesCorp. of Boulder, Colorado.
