Universe In Motion
April 18th 2011 23:34
Category: Nebulas
NGC 3603 imaged in 1997
It is interesting to see what 10 years will do to a star cluster.
Ten years is a mere tick in terms of the overall galactic time clock.
Astronomers noticed signs of turmoil located in a massive Stella cluster in the nebula NGC 3603. What caused the unrest in such a small amount of time ?
The answer to this question for the time being remains unresolved.
Astronomers began comparing photographic observations of the nebula NGC 3603 which were made a decade apart. Researchers have calculated the tiny motions of several hundred young stars.
NGC 3603 imaged in 1997 the changes are shown with the inserts
The stars are moving in ways that are not in keeping with our current understanding of how such clusters evolve. Under normal circumstances the stars in the cluster should have 'settled down'.
The observations were first undertaken in 1997 and the images taken by Wide Field Planetary Camera.
In 1997 the same area was imaged using the same camera and filters used back in 1997.
The star cluster supports a mass of more than 10 000 Suns all tightly packed into a volume a only three light-years across. This star cluster very “young” is one of the most compact star cluster within the Milky Way. The star cluster is only 20,000 light-years from us and is situated within our galaxy close enough to carry out tests on how the cluster formed.
We know that all stars move but from our perspective on Earth the s
tars appear to be in the same location in fixed space.
You can see the actual differences in star movement within the two images, images we are not accustomed to seeing under normal circumstances.
Image Credits: NASA/ESA/W. Brandner (MPIA)/B. Rochau (MPIA)/A. Stolte (University of Cologne)
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