Category: Star Clusters

NASA Webb, Hubble Reveal History of Relic of Milky Way’s Formation

Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only […]

NASA Webb, Hubble Reveal History of Relic of Milky Way’s Formation

Researchers using two of humanity’s most powerful observatories — NASA’s James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes — have definitively shown that Terzan 5 is not a globular star cluster as it was once classified, offering new insight into how galaxies like our own form and evolve over time. A globular star cluster typically has only […]

Pretty in Pink

This image of Westerlund 2 released on March 19, 2026, features Chandra X-ray Observatory data (pink) and infrared data from NASA’S James Webb Space Telescope (red, orange, green, cyan, and blue). Scores of gleaming stars ringed in neon pink stretch across the frame, highlighting a cluster where stars are between one and three million years […]

NASA Finds Young Stars Dim in X-rays Surprisingly Quickly

Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our Sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. A paper describing the results published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal. Unlike in the new movie “Project Hail Mary,” this quieting […]

Chandra, Webb Catch Twinkling Lights

Data from Chandra adds red, green, and blue twinkling lights in this Dec. 22, 2025, image of Pismis 24 from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Pismis 24 is a young cluster of stars in the core of the nearby Lobster Nebula, approximately 5,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Scorpius. Home to a vibrant stellar nursery […]

NASA’s Fermi Spots Young Star Cluster Blowing Gamma-Ray Bubbles

For the first time, astronomers using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope have traced a budding outflow of gas from a cluster of young stars in our galaxy — insights that help us understand how the universe has evolved as NASA explores the secrets of the cosmos for the benefit of all. The cluster, called Westerlund […]

NASA’s TESS Spacecraft Triples Size of Pleiades Star Cluster

Astronomers have revolutionized our understanding of a collection of stars in the northern sky called the Pleiades. They used data from NASA’s TESS (Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite) and other observatories as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all, from the Moon to Mars and beyond. By examining the rotation, chemistry, […]

Hubble Surveys Cloudy Cluster

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image released on Sept. 12, 2025, features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This scene is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. With a mass equal to 10–20% of the mass of the Milky Way, the Large […]

An Eye-catching Star Cluster

Westerlund 1, the biggest and closest “super” star cluster to Earth, dazzles in this image released on July 23, 2025. This view combines x-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (in pink, blue, purple, and orange), infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (in yellow, gold, and blue), and optical data from NASA’s Hubble […]