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Star Clusters |
Star Clusters are a group of physically associated stars, presumed
to share the same origin. There are two main types, open clusters and
globular clusters.
Very young stars are often found in loose groupings
called associations. |

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Globular
clusters
Globular clusters are gravitationally bound concentrations of approximately
tenthousand to one million stars. They consist primarily of very old
stars and populate the halo or bulge of the Milky Way and other galaxies
with a significant concentration toward the Galactic Center. These clusters
have about the same mass as the smallest galaxies, and are among the
oldest objects in galaxies. More recent estimates yield an age of 12
to 20 billion years. A typical globular cluster is a few hundred light-years
across. Our galaxy has about 200 globular clusters. |
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Open clusters
Open clusters are loose aggregations of dozens or hundreds of young
stars. They are generally not gravitationally bound and will disperse
in a relatively short period of time, astronomically speaking. They
are believed to originate from large cosmic gas/dust clouds in the Milky
Way, and to continue to orbit the galaxy through the disk and are often
associated with more diffuse nebulosity, as well. Also called "galactic
clusters" because they are usually found in the plane of the galaxy.
A typical open cluster is less than 50 light-years across. |
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(C)
Copyright 1996 - 2022 by Andjelko Glivar. All rights reserved. This material
may not be published in any
form without permission. |
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