Disintegrating Family

This family of stars, Messier 48, is falling apart. It consists of hundreds of stars of various masses, sizes, and colors. As the cluster orbits the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, however, its stars are stripped away by the gravity of the galaxy's stars and gas clouds. The cluster is about 2,400 light-years from Earth, and appears near the bright star Procyon. [Sloan Digital Sky Survey]