Messier 34 – The Spiral Cluster

An open star cluster in the Perseus constellation, Messier 34 (M34) is approximately 1,500 light years from Earth. Scientists estimate its age at about 200 to 250 million years and contains around 100 stars.

Open star clusters (or “open clusters”) are collections of stars—perhaps a few dozen to a few thousand—that likely formed in the same molecular cloud but are not gravitationally bound to each other. They eventually wander away from each other and find their own paths through the galaxy. Our own sun was probably once part of an open cluster at one time but has since moved out on its own.

Aside from the cluster itself in the upper-left corner, the field of view is rich in red, ionized hydrogen gas. The field also contains numerous far more distant galaxies that range from 30 million (NGC 1003 in the lower-right corner) to 250 million light years in distance (the cluster of tiny galaxies just right of center).