European Association for Astronomy Education

Source: ESO Photo Release eso1534

The rich star cluster IC 4651
Image credits: ESO

Open star clusters like the one seen here are not just perfect subjects for pretty pictures. Most stars form within clusters and these clusters can be used by astronomers as laboratories to study how stars evolve and die. The cluster captured here by the Wide Field Imager (WFI) at ESO’s La Silla Observatory is known as IC 4651, and the stars born within it now display a wide variety of characteristics. (read more)

Source: ESO 47/09 - Photo Release

Trumpler 14 image obtained with Multi-conjugate Adaptive optics Demonstrator (MAD)
mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Credit: ESO/VLT

The young star cluster Trumpler 14 is revealed in another stunning ESO image. Never before has such a large patch of sky been imaged using adaptive optics, a technique by which astronomers are able to remove most of the atmosphere's blurring effects. (Read more)