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The Arches Cluster:
Star Factory Near Galactic Center Bathed In High-Energy X-Rays

Arches Cluster Image
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern/F.Zadeh et al.,
IR: NASA/HST/NICMOS, Radio: NRAO/VLA/C.Lang

JPEG (119 k) , Tiff (1.8 MB), PS (4.9 MB)
This composite image shows an envelope of 60-million-degree gas around a young cluster of stars, known as the Arches cluster. The Chandra data, shown as the diffuse blue emission in the inset box, overlays a Hubble Space Telescope infrared image of the same region, in which some of the individual stars in the cluster can be seen as point-like sources. Both the X-ray and infrared observations are shown in context of the spectacular filamentary structures that appear in radio wavelengths displayed in red. Radio observations were obtained using the Very Large Array (VLA) of radio telescopes.

The Arches cluster contains about 150 hot, young stars concentrated within a radius of about one light year, making it the most compact cluster of stars in our Galaxy. Many of these stars are 20 times as massive as the Sun and live short, furious lives that last only a few million years. During this period, gas evaporates from these stars in the form of intense stellar winds. The envelope of hot gas observed by Chandra is thought to be due to collisions of the winds from numerous stars.

Studies of the Arches cluster, located about 25,000 light years from Earth, can be used to learn more about the environments of "starburst" galaxies millions of light years away where this phenomenon may be occurring on a much larger scale.

Fast Facts for the Arches Cluster:
Credit X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern/F.Zadeh et al., IR: NASA/HST/NICMOS, Radio: NRAO/VLA/C.Lang
Scale  Inset box of X-ray and IR (blue): 0.6 arcminutes on each side. Background red radio: 8 arcmin across. by 9.6 arcmin top to bottom.
Category  Normal Stars & Star Clusters
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 17h 46m 22s | Dec -28º 51' 36.4"
Constellation  Sagittarius
Observation Date  July 7, 2000
Observation Time  14 hours
Instrument  ACIS
Distance Estimate  About 25,000 light years
Release Date  June 06, 2001

More Information on the Arches Cluster:
Press Room: The Arches Cluster Press Release
More Images of the Arches Cluster
The Arches Cluster Handout: html | pdf
Powerpoint and PDF
Related Chandra Images:
Photo Album: Quintuplet Cluster (28 Jul 04)
Photo Album: M17 (14 Aug 03)
Photo Album: The Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus) (23 Apr 02)
Photo Album: HH2 (18 Oct 01)
Photo Album: Galactic Center Radio Arc (09 Jan 02)
More Information on Normal Stars & Star Clusters:
X-ray Astronomy Field Guide: Normal Stars
Questions and Answers: Normal Stars & Star Clusters
Chandra Images: Normal Stars & Star Clusters
Chandra Images: Milky Way Galaxy


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