Click on the image for higher resolution (5.9 MB)
Looking its best ever is the star cluster NGC 2203, here imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. Aside from its dazzling good looks, this cluster of stars contains lots of astronomical treats that have helped astronomers puzzle together the lifetimes of stars.
A main sequence star, like our Sun, is the term applied to a star during the longest period of its life, when it burns fuel steadily. Our Sun's fuel will run out in approximately 6 billion years, and it will then move on to the next stage of its life when it will turn into a red giant. Astronomers studying NGC 2203, which contains stars that are roughly twice as massive as our Sun, found that their rotation might be a factor as to why some of the stars stay longer than usual in this main-sequence phase of their life. This is the best resolution obtained of the star cluster to date.
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA, L. Girardi
Image enhancement: Jean-Baptiste Faure
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