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Credit & Copyright: Dieter Willasch
(Astro-Cabinet)
Explanation:
The great variety of star colors in this
open cluster underlies its name:
The Jewel Box.
One of the bright central stars is a
red supergiant,
in contrast to the many blue stars that surround it.
The cluster, also known as
Kappa Crucis contains just over 100 stars,
and is about 10 million years old.
Open clusters are younger,
contain few stars, and contain a much higher fraction of
blue stars than do
globular
clusters.
This
Jewel Box lies about 6,400 light-years away, so the light that we see
today was emitted from the cluster before even the
Great Pyramids in
Egypt were built.
The Jewel Box,
pictured above, spans about 20 light-years,
and can be seen with binoculars towards the southern constellation of the cross
(Crux).
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: NGC 4755 - open cluster
Publications with words: NGC 4755 - open cluster
See also:
- APOD: 2025 April 28 B Gum 37 and the Southern Tadpoles
- Open Star Clusters M35 and NGC 2158
- APOD: 2025 February 25 B M41: The Little Beehive Star Cluster
- APOD: 2025 February 11 B The Spider and the Fly
- APOD: 2024 October 29 B NGC 602: Stars Versus Pillars from Webb
- NGC 7789: Caroline s Rose
- APOD: 2024 July 2 B NGC 602: Oyster Star Cluster