The Hubble Space Telescope shows a “sparkling jewel box full of stars,” NASA says, in the central bulge of the Milky Way, with more plentiful bright blue stars in the foreground. Older red stars co-exist with younger sun-like stars in the central bulge, revealing a seemingly chaotic environment. Detailed studies show stars richer in elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are orbiting the galaxy’s core at higher speeds than older stars deficient in heavy elements.
This image is a composite of near-infrared and visible light exposures taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, part of two surveys known as the Galactic Bulge Treasury Program and the Sagittarius Window Eclipsing Extrasolar Planet Search.
