stellar association, a very large, loose grouping of 

stars that are of similar spectral

type and relatively recent origin. Stellar associations are thought to be the birthplaces of
most stars.

The stars in stellar associations are grouped together much more loosely than they are
in star clusters of the open and globular types. A star cluster’s members are bound
together by gravity into a relatively tight configuration, whereas an association simply
consists of young stars that have not yet had time to move very far from a common site
of formation.

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star cluster: General description and classification

About 90 percent of all stars originate as members of associations. In the Milky Way

Galaxy, the largest number of associations are found in the spiral arms of the galaxy,
and the known ones are located less than 10,000 light-years from the Sun. Stellar
associations vary in size but tend to be large. Those near the Sun measure roughly 100 to
200 light-years in diameter, while those elsewhere in the galaxy typically extend about
700 light-years across. Stellar associations contain a relatively small number of stars
(from about 10 to a few hundred in most cases), and so their total mass amounts to only
several hundred or a few thousand solar masses.

Stellar associations are generally classified into three types on the basis of their most
prominent components: OB, R, and T associations. OB associations consist largely of
very young, massive stars (about 10 to 50 solar masses) of spectral types O and B, which
have an absolute luminosity about 100,000 times that of the Sun. In many cases, one or
more small open star clusters lie near the centre of such an association.

R associations consist of young, bright stars of intermediate mass (3 to 10 solar masses).

Stars in this type of association are surrounded by patches of dust that reflect and
absorb light from nebulae, and hence these associations are sometimes called reflection
nebulae.

T associations contain mostly T Tauri stars. These are comparatively cool, newly formed
stars of low mass (3 or less solar masses) that are still in the process of contraction.
Associations of this kind are thought to be the primary source of low-luminosity stars in
the vicinity of the Sun.