Comparison of Hubble observations of the massive compact star cluster in NGC 3603 in 1997 and 2007

The massive compact star cluster in NGC 3603 is shown in images taken ten years apart. The image is a colour composite of observations in the WFPC2 filters F547M (1997) respectively F555W (2007) (blue), F675W (green) and F814W (red). The field of view is about 20 arcseconds across. The boxes show a zoomed view of three foreground stars with a particularly high apparent speed relative to the cluster members. Other fast-moving stars can be spotted by closer examination of the two pictures. Most of the cluster stars move by less than 1/10 of a pixel over the ten-year period, which is not discernible by eye.

To blink between the two images and see the stars move please click on the 'Fullsize Original' link to the right or here.