Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Massive Stars in Open Cluster Pismis 24

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for December 19, 2006 is “Massive Stars in Open Cluster Pismis 24,” an image. It is credited to Credit: NASA , ESA and J. M. Apellniz ( IAA , Spain).. The original explanation runs about 141 words.

Massive Stars in Open Cluster Pismis 24
Credit: NASA , ESA and J. M. Apellniz ( IAA , Spain). Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“How massive can a normal star be? Estimates made from distance, brightness and standard solar models had given one star in the open cluster Pismis 24 over 200 times the mass of our Sun, making it a record holder.”

— APOD editors, December 19, 2006

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
December 19, 2006
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: NASA , ESA and J. M. Apellniz ( IAA , Spain).
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 141 words

All of December 2006 → · 2006 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

The SunStar clusters

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: December 19 in other years

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Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.