Stellar titans of Pismis 24

Home to some of the largest stars ever discovered, the open stellar cluster Pismis 24 blazes from the core of NGC 6357, a nebula in the constellation of Scorpius (the Scorpion). Several stars in the clusters weigh in at over 100 times the mass of the Sun, making them real monster stars. The strange shapes taken by the clouds are a result of the huge amount of blazing radiation emitted by these massive, hot stars. The gas and dust of the nebula hide huge baby stars in the nebula from telescopes observing in visible light, as well as adding to the hazy appearance of the image.

This image combines observations performed through three different filters in visible light (B, V, R) with the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile.

Credit:

ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/ R. Gendler, U.G. Jørgensen, J. Skottfelt, K. Harpsøe

About the Image

Id:potw1015a
Type:Observation
Release date:12 April 2010, 10:00
Size:2066 x 2042 px

About the Object

Name:Pismis 24
Type:Milky Way : Nebula
Milky Way : Star : Grouping : Cluster : Open
Distance:8000 light years
Constellation:Scorpius
Category:Nebulae
Star Clusters

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.7 MB
Screensize JPEG
356.3 KB

Zoomable


Wallpapers

1024x768
347.5 KB
1280x1024
550.4 KB
1600x1200
797.6 KB
1920x1200
977.3 KB
2048x1536
1.3 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 25 24.07
Position (Dec):-34° 25' 47.79"
Field of view:13.59 x 13.43 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 135.1° left of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Optical
B
433 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Optical
V
544 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Optical
R
648 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC