NASA photographs Christmas Tree star cluster

By Davut Demircan

ANKARA (AA) - The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) published a photo this week of a colorful collection of stars known as the Christmas Tree Cluster which was taken by its Spitzer infrared space telescope.

Located in the lower middle portion of the photo behind a thick layer of dust, shining pink and red young stars resemble the decorations of a Christmas tree.

“The newly revealed infant stars appear as pink and red specks toward the center and appear to have formed in regularly spaced intervals along linear structures in a configuration that resembles the spokes of a wheel or the pattern of a snowflake. Hence, astronomers have nicknamed this the ‘Snowflake Cluster,’” NASA said on its official website.

“While most of the visible-light stars that give the Christmas Tree Cluster its name and triangular shape do not shine brightly in Spitzer's infrared eyes, all of the stars forming from this dusty cloud are considered part of the cluster,” the statement added.