The life of a large family of stars has been revealed in stunning detail by a technique that removes the blurring effects of Earth's atmosphere.
The young star cluster Trumpler 14 can be seen clearly in the new image taken by the adaptive optics system on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT).
The snapshot represents the largest patch of sky yet to be image with adaptive optics. The technique counteracts interference from Earth's atmosphere by making swift, real-time changes in the shape of a telescope's mirror during observations.
At less than 1 million years old, Trumpler 14 is the youngest cluster of stars in the Carina Nebula (also noted for hosting Eta Carinae — one of the wildest and most massive stars in our galaxy). The large open cluster is located about 8,000 light-years away from Earth.
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