NASA telescope captures star cluster birth from five and half million years ago

NASA has shared an incredible image on its social channels as a reminder of the awesome power of the Hubble Space Telescope, a space telescope that is more than 30 years old.

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The Hubble Space Telescope captured a star cluster officially called NGC 6611, and the above image is from the space agency's "Hubble Classic" catalog, with it originally uploaded to the database on June 26, 2018. However, NASA has taken to its social channels to repost the image and explain via a link to its blog that NGC 6611 is an open star cluster that formed approximately 5.5 million years ago within the Eagle Nebula, or Messier 16.

In astronomical age, NGC 6611 is considered to be a "very young cluster" as it contains many hot blue stars that cause the Eagle Nebula to glow brightly. NASA writes on its blog that the Eagle Nebula is predominately made of hydrogen gas that will eventually disperse and will be assisted by shockwaves caused by supernova explosions as the young stars end their lives.

"In this image, dark patches can also be spotted, punctuating the stellar landscape. These areas of apparent nothingness are actually very dense regions of gas and dust, which obstruct light from passing through. Many of these may be hiding the sites of the early stages of star formation, before the fledgling stars clear away their surroundings and burst into view," writes NASA