Dazzling Diamonds of Trumpler 14

This image features the star cluster Trumpler 14, one of the largest gatherings of massive, bright stars in the Milky Way. The cluster is just 500,000 years old. These blue-white stars are burning their hydrogen fuel so ferociously they will explode as supernovae in just a few million years. The combination of outflowing stellar "winds" and, ultimately, supernova blast waves will carve out cavities in nearby clouds of gas and dust. These fireworks will kick-start the beginning of a new generation of stars in an ongoing cycle of star birth and death. The small, dark knot left of center is a nodule of gas laced with dust, and seen in silhouette.