Young RCW38 Star Cluster in Vela | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

Young RCW38 Star Cluster in Vela | NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory

A young star cluster about 5,500 light years from Earth, named RCW 38, provides astronomers a chance to closely examine many young, rapidly evolving stars at once. In this composite image, X-rays from Chandra are blue, while infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are orange and additional infrared data from the Two Micron All-Sky [infrared] Survey (2MASS) appears white. There are many massive stars in RCW 38 that will likely explode as supernovas. Astronomers studying RCW 38 are hoping to better understand this environment as our Sun was likely born into a similar stellar nursery.

RCW 38 is a star-forming region in the southern constellation of Vela (known as the Sails). It includes an embedded HII region and a super star cluster. H II regions are clouds of ionized hydrogen gas where new stars are actively forming, glowing due to ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars. This is the youngest super star cluster in the Milky Way galaxy with age estimates ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 million years. It has around 10,000 member stars. The cluster member stars are still enshrouded within the dark cloud where they were born. The star cluster is surrounded by clouds of brightly glowing gas and includes many protostars. Observations by the Chandra X-ray Observatory have revealed more than 800 X-ray emitting young stellar objects in the cluster.

Credits: 
X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO
Optical: NASA/STScI
Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA
Release Date: Sept. 21, 2026

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