SPACEPHOTOS

Hubble Snaps Picture of Remarkable Double cluster. The double cluster NGC 1850, found in one of our neighboring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud, is an eye-catching object. It is a young, 'globular-like' star cluster -- a type of object unknown in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Moreover, NGC 1850 is surrounded by a filigree pattern of diffuse gas, which scientists believe was created by the explosion of massive stars. NGC 1850, imaged here with the NASA Hubble Space Telescope, is an unusual double cluster that lies in the bar of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way. After the 30 Doradus complex, NGC 1850 is the brightest star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is representative of a special class of objects -- young, globular-like star clusters -- that have no counterpart in our galaxy. The two components of the cluster are both relatively young and consist of a main, globular-like cluster in the center and an even younger, smaller cluster, seen below and to the right, composed of extremely hot, blue stars and, fainter red T-Tauri stars. The main cluster is about 50 million years old; the smaller cluster is only 4 million years old.