'Hellish' Binary System Found in Embedded Cluster

The aptly named RCW 38 is one of the densest star clusters known, located some 5,500 light-years away, in the direction of the constellation Vela. The embedded cluster, termed that way because the immensely vast amounts of dust and gas that trigger star formation still envelop developing formations, is one of the structures of the Universe that was recently determined to be the source for most of the low-mass, reddish stars around today. While peering in the center of this stellar nursery, during the sharpest observations ever made of the structure, astronomers made an incredible discovery.Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics graduate student Kim DeRose took to the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for her new observations, and used the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS) / Near-Infrared Imager and Spectrograph (CONICA) instruments on the famous Very Large Telescope (VLT) for the job. The expert focused all observation power on a small area in RCW 38's core, where the massive star IRS2 had been previously identified. Astronomers had observed that this star had an unusual color, with its surface all white. The searing, white-blue range actually represents the hottest surface color and temperature possible for any star. In the sharpest image of the object e...