Open star clusters as a research area encompass the observational and theoretical study of gravitationally bound, relatively young stellar groupings in galactic disks, used as laboratories for stellar and Galactic astrophysics. Research focuses on their formation, dynamical evolution, and dissolution in the Galactic tidal field; detailed determination of their ages, distances, and metallicities; and the characterization of stellar populations, mass functions, and binary fractions. Open clusters are key tracers of Galactic structure, chemical evolution, and star formation history, and are investigated through multiwavelength photometry, high-resolution spectroscopy, astrometry, and N-body simulations to constrain models of stellar evolution and cluster dynamics.
Astronomers have unveiled an explosive cosmic fireworks display of stars interacting with their environment. This dazzling spectacle—due to powerful winds flowing from the stars—marks a major milestone in the ability to study ...
Astronomy
Jan 15, 2025
0
39
An international team of astronomers has employed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe a supermassive Galactic open cluster known as Westerlund 1. Results of the observational campaign, presented in a paper published ...
Astronomers at the University of Toronto (U of T) have discovered the first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars—"dead" remnants and "living" stars—in young star clusters. Described in a new study published in The ...
Astronomy
Nov 19, 2024
0
100
Astronomers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have inspected a Galactic open cluster known as NGC 2506 as part of the WIYN Open Cluster Study. Results of the study, ...
Most stars form in collections, called clusters or associations, that include very massive stars. These giant stars send out large amounts of high-energy radiation, which can disrupt relatively fragile disks of dust and gas ...
Astronomy
Oct 28, 2024
0
36
