The Hubble Space Telescope has photographed the brilliant group of stars NGC 2660. This is an open cluster
Open cluster (OC) - a type of stara cluster that can contain from tens to several hundred stars, weakly bound to each other under the influence of gravity. Stars in such clusters are formed from the same region of gas and dust. This means they have many common characteristics, such as age and chemical composition.
Unlike globular clusters - their ancient ones,Their denser, more densely packed cousins, open clusters, are easier to study because astronomers can more easily distinguish individual objects. PC stars can be old or young and, after a few million years, dissipate into spiral or irregular galaxies.
Credit: NASA, ESA and T. von Hippel (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University);
Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
The stars in this image surrounddiffraction "spikes". They occur when the glow from bright points is reflected from the support of Hubble's secondary mirror. The bright red object on the left with very visible diffraction peaks is a foreground star that is not part of the cluster. Hubble observed this open cluster as part of a program to study the age of white dwarfs in the PC.
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