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Physical Environment > Open Star Clusters |
This site tells the story of the history of the universe. Click Earlier and Later to follow the story. Note: Many facts have been simplified to make them easier to understand. |
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Stars form in groups called open star clusters. These are strung out along the spiral arms like beads in a necklace. Open clusters are much smaller than globular star clusters, containing only a few tens or hundreds of stars.
Open star clusters are important because planets probably form at the same time around some of these stars. Unfortunately it is hard to watch open star clusters form because spiral arms are surrounded by clouds of gas and dust. Once the stars begin to shine they blow away the left-over gas and dust. You can see several open star clusters easily without binoculars. The cluster shown here are the Pleiades. |
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Physical Environment > Open Star Clusters |
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