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Collection:
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NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
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Title:
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A Hidden, Massive Star Cluster Awash with Red Supergiants
Title
A Hidden, Massive Star Cluster Awash with Red Supergiants
Title
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Description:
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The sky is a jewelry box full of sparkling stars in these infrared images. The crown jewels are 14 massive stars on the verge of exploding as supernovae.
These hefty stars reside in one of the most massive star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. The bluish cluster is inside the white box in the large image, which shows the star-studded region around it. A close-up of the cluster can be seen in the inset photo.
These large stars are a tip-off to the mass of the young cluster. Astronomers estimate that the cluster is at least 20,000 times as massive as the Sun. Each red supergiant is about 20 times the Sun's mass.
The larger color-composite image was taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope for the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) Legacy project. The survey penetrates obscuring dust along the thick disk of our galaxy to reveal never-before-seen stars and star clusters.
The false colors in the image correspond to infrared-light emission. The stars in the large color-composite image all appear blue because they emit most of their infrared light at shorter wavelengths.
The inset image, a false-color composite, was captured by the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Astronomers identified the cluster as a potential behemoth after spotting it in the 2MASS catalogue. They then used the Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona to analyze the cluster's colors. From that analysis, they discovered the red supergiants. They confirmed the red supergiants' pedigree by studying the colors of other red supergiants in data taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope.
The cluster lies 18,900 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scutum. It is the first in a survey of 130 potentially massive star clusters in the Milky Way that astronomers will study over the next five years using a variety of telescopes, including the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.
The Spitzer image was taken April 4, 2004; the 2MASS image on July 4, 1999.
The science team that studied the star cluster consists of Don Figer, Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Techology; John MacKenty, Massimo Robberto, and Kester Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute; Francisco Najarro, Instituto de Estructura de la Materia in Madrid, Spain: Rolf Kudritzki, University of Hawaii in Honolulu; and Artemio Herrero, Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain.
Description
The sky is a jewelry box full of sparkling stars in these infrared images. The crown jewels are 14 massive stars on the verge of exploding as supernovae.
These hefty stars reside in one of the most massive star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. The bluish cluster is inside the white box in the large image, which shows the star-studded region around it. A close-up of the cluster can be seen in the inset photo.
These large stars are a tip-off to the mass of the young cluster. Astronomers estimate that the cluster is at least 20,000 times as massive as the Sun. Each red supergiant is about 20 times the Sun's mass.
The larger color-composite image was taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope for the Galactic Legacy Infrared Mid-Plane Survey Extraordinaire (GLIMPSE) Legacy project. The survey penetrates obscuring dust along the thick disk of our galaxy to reveal never-before-seen stars and star clusters.
The false colors in the image correspond to infrared-light emission. The stars in the large color-composite image all appear blue because they emit most of their infrared light at shorter wavelengths.
The inset image, a false-color composite, was captured by the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS). Astronomers identified the cluster as a potential behemoth after spotting it in the 2MASS catalogue. They then used the Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona to analyze the cluster's colors. From that analysis, they discovered the red supergiants. They confirmed the red supergiants' pedigree by studying the colors of other red supergiants in data taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope.
The cluster lies 18,900 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Scutum. It is the first in a survey of 130 potentially massive star clusters in the Milky Way that astronomers will study over the next five years using a variety of telescopes, including the Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes.
The Spitzer image was taken April 4, 2004; the 2MASS image on July 4, 1999.
The science team that studied the star cluster consists of Don Figer, Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Techology; John MacKenty, Massimo Robberto, and Kester Smith, Space Telescope Science Institute; Francisco Najarro, Instituto de Estructura de la Materia in Madrid, Spain: Rolf Kudritzki, University of Hawaii in Honolulu; and Artemio Herrero, Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain.
Description
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Release Date:
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2006/01/09
Release_Date
2006/01/09
Release Date
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Press Release:
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Press_Release
Press Release
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Figer (STScI/RIT)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Figer (STScI/RIT)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech, D. Figer (Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Technology) and the GLIMPSE Legacy team of E. Churchwell, B. Babler, M. Meade, and B. Whitney (University of Wisconsin), and R. Indebetouw (University of Virginia).
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech, D. Figer (Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Technology) and the GLIMPSE Legacy team of E. Churchwell, B. Babler, M. Meade, and B. Whitney (University of Wisconsin), and R. Indebetouw (University of Virginia).
Image Credit
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Object type:
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Star cluster, Star forming region
Object_type
Star cluster, Star forming region
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *18h38m0.00s *Dec: *-6d48m0.00s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *18h38m0.00s *Dec: *-6d48m0.00s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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18,900 light-years (5,800 parsecs)
Distance
18,900 light-years (5,800 parsecs)
Distance
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Constellation:
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Scutum
Constellation
Scutum
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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3.6 microns blue, 4.5 microns green, 8.0 microns red
Wavelength
3.6 microns blue, 4.5 microns green, 8.0 microns red
Wavelength
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Instrument:
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IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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April 4, 2004
Exposure_Date
April 4, 2004
Exposure Date
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Related links:
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Related_links
Related links
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note:
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*Spitzer image* Screen-Resolution (450x328): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2006-03a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (6640x4840): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Figer (Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Technology), E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and the GLIMPSE Legacy Team
note
*Spitzer image* Screen-Resolution (450x328): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2006-03a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (6640x4840): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Figer (Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Technology), E. Churchwell (University of Wisconsin, Madison) and the GLIMPSE Legacy Team note
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note:
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*2MASS image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2006-03a2_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (804x804): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/NSF/2MASS/UMass /IPAC-Caltech/D. Figer (Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Technology)
note
*2MASS image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2006-03a2_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (804x804): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/NSF/2MASS/UMass /IPAC-Caltech/D. Figer (Space Telescope Science Institute/Rochester Institute of Technology) note
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Scutum
facet_what
Scutum
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Madison
facet_where
Madison
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Wisconsin
facet_where
Wisconsin
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Virginia
facet_where
Virginia
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Arizona
facet_where
Arizona
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Hawaii
facet_where
Hawaii
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Spain
facet_where
Spain
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Honolulu
facet_where
Honolulu
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Madrid
facet_where
Madrid
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
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facet_when:
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April 4, 2004
facet_when
April 4, 2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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July 4, 1999
facet_when
July 4, 1999
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2004
facet_when_year
2004
facet_when_year
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facet_when_year:
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1999
facet_when_year
1999
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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ssc2006-03a
Image_#
ssc2006-03a
Image #
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-03 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-03 a
UID
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