Raiders of the Lost Stars
Like a team of real-life Indiana Joneses, scientists have explored our galaxy and found a treasure trove of hidden gems. These gems are much more spectacular than the diamonds that Indiana Jones might hope to find – they are collections of dazzling stars!
The majority of stars that weigh more than half as much as our nearest star, the Sun, are born in groups called ‘Open Clusters’. But stars are born in very dusty places, which makes these Open Clusters difficult to find for most telescopes. “The dust in front of these clusters makes them appear 10,000 to 100,000,000 times fainter,” explains Professor Kurtev.
However, using a new telescope called the VISTA telescope, Professor Kurtev and other astronomers have discovered 96 new Open Clusters in our galaxy, the Milky Way, that had previously been hidden from view. A small selection of these gems is shown in the image above.
Credit:
ESO/J. Borissova
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