NASA : Hubble Uncovering the Secrets of the Quintuplet Cluster .- Hubble Descubriendo los secretos del Quintuplet Cluster

Hola amigos: A VUELO DE UN QUINDE EL BLOG., hemos recibido información de la Agencia Espacial NASA, sobre un grupo conocido como : Quintiplet Cluster: El grupo se encuentra cerca del cúmulo Arches y está a sólo 100 años luz del centro de nuestra galaxia. La proximidad del clúster para el polvo en el centro de la galaxia significa que gran parte de su luz visible está bloqueado, lo que ayudó a mantener la incógnita clúster hasta su descubrimiento en 1990, cuando fue revelado por las observaciones infrarrojas. Las imágenes infrarrojas de la agrupación, como el que se muestra aquí, nos permiten ver a través del polvo que oscurece a las estrellas calientes en el racimo.

More information..................
http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/hubble-uncovering-the-secrets-of-the-quintuplet-cluster

Although this cluster of stars gained its name due to its five brightest stars, it is home to hundreds more. The huge number of massive young stars in the cluster is clearly captured in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image.

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.

The Quintuplet Cluster hosts two extremely rare luminous blue variable stars: the Pistol Star and the lesser known V4650 Sgr. If you were to draw a line horizontally through the center of this image from left to right, you could see the Pistol Star hovering just above the line about one third of the way along it. The Pistol Star is one of the most luminous known stars in the Milky Way and takes its name from the shape of the Pistol Nebula that it illuminates, but which is not visible in this infrared image. The exact age and future of the Pistol Star are uncertain, but it is expected to end in a supernova or even a hypernova in one to three million years.

The cluster also contains a number of red supergiants. These stars are among the largest in the galaxy and are burning their fuel at an incredible speed, meaning they will have a very short lifetime. Their presence suggests an average cluster age of nearly four million years. At the moment these stars are on the verge of exploding as supernovae. During their spectacular deaths they will release vast amounts of energy which, in turn, will heat the material — dust and gas — between the other stars.

This observation shows the Quintuplet Cluster in the infrared and demonstrates the leap in Hubble’s performance since its 1999 image of same object.

Image credit: ESA/NASA
Text credit: European Space Agency

Last Updated: July 30, 2015

Editor: Ashley Morrow

Tags:  Goddard Space Flight Center, Hubble Space Telescope, Stars, Universe

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Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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