Star Cluster in NGC 1850 18x24 (21x27) Poster

Recommended size to fit a standard frame: 18x24 inches (original size: 21x27 inches at 300 PPI, 51 MP). Many other sizes available. Click 'Customize it!' on the right. By spying on a neighbouring galaxy, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of a young, globular-like star cluster -- a type of object unknown in our Milky Way Galaxy. The image, taken by Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, was designed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. The double cluster NGC 1850 lies in a neighbouring satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. It has two relatively young components. The main, globular-like cluster is in the centre. A smaller cluster is seen below and to the right, composed of extremely hot, blue stars and fainter red T-Tauri stars. The main cluster is about 50 million years old; the smaller one is 4 million years old. A filigree pattern of diffuse gas surrounds NGC 1850. Scientists believe the pattern formed millions of years ago when massive stars in the main cluster exploded as supernovas. Hubble can observe a range of star types in NGC 1850, including the faint, low-mass T-Tauri stars, which are difficult to distinguish with ground-based telescopes. Hubble's fine angular resolution can pick out these stars, even in other galaxies. Massive stars of the OB type emit large amounts of energetic ultraviolet radiation, which is absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere. From Hubble's position above the atmosphere, it can detect this ultraviolet light. NGC 1850, the brightest star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is in the southern constellation of Dorado, called the Goldfish or the Swordfish. This image was created from five archival exposures taken by the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 between April 3, 1994 and February 6, 1996. The Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md., manages space operations for Hubble for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Institute is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Centre, Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Credit: NASA, ESA, and Martino Romaniello (European Southern Observatory, Germany)