The colourful star cluster NGC 3590
The star cluster NGC 3590 in the constellation of Carina
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This colourful new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the star cluster NGC 3590. These stars shine brightly in front of a dramatic landscape of dark patches of dust and richly hued clouds of glowing gas. This small stellar gathering gives astronomers clues about how these stars form and evolve — as well as giving hints about the structure of our galaxy's pinwheeling arms.
NGC 3590 is a small open cluster of stars around 7500 light-years
from Earth, in the constellation of Carina (The Keel). It is a gathering
of dozens of stars loosely bound together by gravity and is roughly 35
million years old.
This cluster is not just pretty; it is very useful to astronomers. By
studying this particular cluster — and others nearby — astronomers can
explore the properties of the spiral disc of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
NGC 3590 is located in the largest single segment of a spiral arm that
can be seen from our position in the galaxy: the Carina spiral feature.
The Milky Way has multiple spiral arms, long curved streams of gas
and stars stretching out from the galactic centre. These arms — two
major star-filled arms, and two less populated minor arms — are each
named after the constellations in which they are most prominent [1].
The Carina spiral feature is seen from Earth as a patch of sky heavily
populated with stars, in the Carina-Sagittarius minor arm.
The name of this arm — Carina, or The Keel — is quite appropriate.
These spiral arms are actually waves of piled up gas and stars sweeping
through the galactic disc, triggering sparkling bursts of star formation
and leaving clusters like NGC 3590 in their wake. By finding and
observing young stars like those in NGC 3590, it is possible to
determine the distances to the different parts of this spiral arm,
telling us more about its structure.
Typical open clusters can contain anything from a few tens to a few
thousands of stars, and provide astronomers with clues about stellar
evolution. The stars in a cluster like NGC 3590 are born at around the
same time from the same cloud of gas, making these clusters perfect test
sites for theories on how stars form and evolve.
This image from the Wide Field Imager (WFI) on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre
telescope at La Silla, shows the cluster and the gas clouds surrounding
it, which glow in orange and red hues due to the radiation coming from
nearby hot stars. WFI's large field of view also captures a colossal
number of background stars.
To obtain this image, multiple observations were made using different
filters to capture the different colours of the scene. This image was
created by combining images taken in the visible and infrared parts of
the spectrum, and a special filter that collected only light coming from
glowing hydrogen.
Notes
[1] These four arms are named the Carina-Sagittarius, Norma, Scutum-Centaurus, and Perseus arms.
More information
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental
astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive
ground-based astronomical observatory by far. It is supported by 15
countries: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark,
France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. ESO carries out an ambitious
programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful
ground-based observing facilities enabling astronomers to make
important scientific discoveries. ESO also plays a leading role in
promoting and organising cooperation in astronomical research. ESO
operates three unique world-class observing sites in Chile: La Silla,
Paranal and Chajnantor. At Paranal, ESO operates the Very Large
Telescope, the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical
observatory and two survey telescopes. VISTA works in the infrared and
is the world's largest survey telescope and the VLT Survey Telescope is
the largest telescope designed to exclusively survey the skies in
visible light. ESO is the European partner of a revolutionary
astronomical telescope ALMA, the largest astronomical project in
existence. ESO is currently planning the 39-metre European Extremely
Large optical/near-infrared Telescope, the E-ELT, which will become “the
world's biggest eye on the sky”.
Links
- Photos of the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
- Photos from the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
- Photos of La Silla
Contacts
Richard HookESO, Public Information Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
Cell: +49 151 1537 3591
Email: rhook@eso.org
Source: ESO
