An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

One of the three massive clusters located toward the → Galactic center: → Quintuplet cluster, → Arches cluster, → Central cluster. Heavily extinguished by the presence of dust clouds and only accessible at infrared (and longer) wavelengths or in X-rays, each of these clusters has a population of more than a hundred → massive stars. The three clusters are similar in most respects, each containing about 10⁴ solar masses in stars. The Arches cluster is younger than the two others.

See also: → galactic; → center; → cluster.