Solar composition star cluster

About this image

New observations of the richly populated star cluster NGC2420 taken by the refurbished WIYN 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory suggest that the cluster contains a multitude of clues about the history and evolution of the Milky Way. NGC2420 consists of approximately 1,000 stars packed into a roughly spherical volume of space just 30 light-years in diameter. Because all of the stars in a star cluster have similar ages and initial compositions, star clusters can be used as a laboratory to study many different areas of astronomy. Further details of this interesting result can be found in NOAO press release 02-04.

More: stars page, open clusters page.

Minimum credit line: WIYN/NOAO/NSF

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