page_title: Star
hierarchical_section_title: Star
caption_attribution_description: English: Home to some of the largest stars ever discovered, the open stellar cluster Pismis 24 blazes from the core of NGC 6357, a nebula in the constellation of Scorpius (the Scorpion). Several stars in the clusters weigh in at over 100 times the mass of the Sun, making them real monster stars. The strange shapes taken by the clouds are a result of the huge amount of blazing radiation emitted by these massive, hot stars. The gas and dust of the nebula hide huge baby stars in the nebula from telescopes observing in visible light, as well as adding to the hazy appearance of the image. This image combines observations performed through three different filters in visible light (B, V, R) with the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile. Français&#160;: L'amas ouvert Pimsis 24 brille depuis le cœur de la nébuleuse NGC 6357, située dans la constellation du scorpion. Cet amas contient quelques unes des étoiles les plus massives connues. Plusieurs des étoiles de cet amas pèsent plus de 100 fois la masse du soleil, ce qui en fait de véritables monstres. Les formes étranges et contournées des nuages de poussière sont le résultat de l'intense radiation qui entoure ces étoiles chaudes et massives. Le gaz et les poussières de la nébuleuse cachent de très grosses étoiles en formation, et donnent un aspect brumeux à l'ensemble de l'image. Cette image combine des observations réalisés avec trois filtres différents (bleu, vert et rouge) en lumière visible sur le télescope daois de 1,5 m à l'observatoire de La Silla, au Chili.
context_page_description: A star is a very large ball of bright glowing hot matter in space. That matter is called plasma. Stars are held together by gravity. They give out heat and light because they are very hot.
  Stars are hot because nuclear reactions happen inside them. Those reactions are called nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion makes light and heat and makes bigger and bigger chemical elements. Stars have a lot of hydrogen. Nuclear fusion changes hydrogen into helium. When a star gets old, it starts to change the helium into other bigger chemical elements, like carbon and oxygen. Fusion makes a lot of energy. The energy makes the star very hot. The energy produced by stars moves away from them. Much of the energy leaves as light. The rest leaves as other kinds of electromagnetic radiation.
context_section_description: A star is a very large ball of bright glowing hot matter in space. That matter is called plasma. Stars are held together by gravity. They give out heat and light because they are very hot.
  Stars are hot because nuclear reactions happen inside them. Those reactions are called nuclear fusion.  Nuclear fusion makes light and heat and makes bigger and bigger chemical elements. Stars have a lot of hydrogen. Nuclear fusion changes hydrogen into helium. When a star gets old, it starts to change the helium into other bigger chemical elements, like carbon and oxygen. Fusion makes a lot of energy. The energy makes the star very hot. The energy produced by stars moves (radiates) away from them. Much of the energy leaves as light. The rest leaves as other kinds of electromagnetic radiation.
caption: The open star cluster Pismis 24 is in the nebula NGC 6357. It has some of the largest stars known. Pismis 24-1 has nearly 300 times the mass of the Sun. It is a multiple system of at least three stars. 
   The strange shapes taken by the clouds are a result of the vast radiation emitted by these huge, hot stars. 
  This image combines image data with three different filters in visible light from the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory in Chile.
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