Aging Family

The star cluster M7 shines brightly against the background of the Milky Way. The cluster is perhaps 1,000 light-years away and contains about 80 stars. Some of the stars are nearing the ends of their lives, so they have grown larger and brighter. They help make the cluster visible to the unaided eye, near the border between Scorpius and Sagittarius, although you need a dark sky to see it. [N.A.Sharp/REU program/NOAO/AURA/NSF]