Currently, sci.esa.int is under review and not being updated. For the latest information and news from ESA science missions and scientific results, please visit esa.int. For a comprehensive overview of ESA’s Science Programme and its missions, please refer to science.esa.int. For in-depth technical information aimed at ESA's scientific communities, you may also wish to consult cosmos.esa.int.

Asset Publisher

Back Mega starbirth cluster is biggest, brightest and hottest ever seen (artist's impression)

Mega starbirth cluster is biggest, brightest and hottest ever seen (artist's impression)


Date: 29 October 2003
Satellite: Hubble
Depicts: Artist's impression of the Lynx Arc
Copyright: European Space Agency, NASA and Robert A.E. Fosbury (European Space Agency/Space Telescope-European Coordinating Facility, Germany)

This illustration shows an artist's impression of the so-called Lynx arc, a newly identified distant super-cluster that contains a million blue-white stars twice as hot as similar stars in our Milky Way galaxy. The Lynx arc is one million times brighter than the well-known Orion Nebula, a nearby prototypical 'starbirth' region visible with small telescopes. The stars in the Lynx arc are more than twice as hot as the Orion Nebula's central stars, with surface temperatures up to 80 000°C. Though there are much bigger and brighter star-forming regions than the Orion Nebula in our local Universe, none are as bright as the Lynx arc, nor do they contain such large numbers of hot stars. The stars are so hot that a very large fraction of their light is emitted in the ultraviolet that makes the gas glow with the green and red colours illustrated here.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
5-Mar-2026 07:40 UT

ShortUrl Portlet

Shortcut URL

https://sci.esa.int/s/wVMDy5A

Latest Selection

Also Available As

Related Images

Related Videos

Caption & Press Release

Related Publications

Related Links

See Also

Documentation