Trumpler 14, a star cluster 8,000 light-years away from Earth, shined like diamonds in images from the Hubble Space Telescope released by NASA.
The Trumpler 14 cluster, located in the Carina Nebula, is about 500,000 years old and is one of the highest concentration of large, luminous stars in the Milky Way galaxy, according to
NASA.
"These blue-white stars are burning their hydrogen fuel so ferociously they will explode as supernovae in just a few million years," NASA said on its Hubble website. "The combination of outflowing stellar 'winds' and, ultimately, supernova blast waves will carve out cavities in nearby clouds of gas and dust."
"These fireworks will kick-start the beginning of a new generation of stars in an ongoing cycle of star birth and death. This composite image of Trumpler 14 was made with data taken in 2005-2006 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys."
The European Space Agency Information Center said on its
Hubble website that about 1,100 open star clusters have been located in the Milky Way galaxy. The brightest star in the new Trumpler 14 image is called HD 93129Aa, which is about 80 times more massive, and 2.5 million times brighter than the sun, said
Space.com.
"… Trumpler 14 is not only one of the most populous clusters within the Carina Nebula, but also the youngest," said the European Space Agency. "However, it is fast making up for lost time, forming stars at an incredible rate and putting on a stunning visual display."
Trumpler 14 has an estimated 2,000 stars ranging in size from less than one-tenth to several times the mass of the Sun, according to the European Space Agency.
The Hubble images of Trumpler 14 wowed many on social media.