From the Hubble Space Telescope
Probing deep within a neighborhood stellar nursery, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope uncovered a swarm of newborn brown dwarfs. Its near-infrared camera (upper picture) revealed about 50 of these objects throughout the Orion Nebula's Trapezium cluster about 1,500 light-years from Earth. Appearing like glistening precious stones surrounding a setting of sparkling diamonds, more than 300 fledgling stars and brown dwarfs surround the brightest, most massive stars [center of picture] in Hubble's view of the Trapezium cluster's central region. The brown dwarfs are too dim to be seen in an image taken by the Hubble telescope's visible-light camera (the lower picture).
Image Title: Hubble Spies Brown Dwarfs in Nearby Stellar Nursery
based on press release for PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC0019
Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Back to Star Cluster photographs index.
Last Modified On: Thursday, December 14, 2000