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Westerlund 2: Detail 2

Westerlund 2: Detail 2
Westerlund 2 is surrounded by the star-forming region Gum 29. The heaviest cluster stars are unleashing a torrent of ultraviolet radiation and hurricane-force winds streaming with charged particles, etching away the enveloping hydrogen gas cloud from where the cluster formed. The nebula reveals a fantasy landscape of pillars, ridges, valleys, and reddish-brown filaments of dense gas and dust. The brightest stars in the image are Milky Way foreground stars not associated with Westerlund 2.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    10h 23m 58.1s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -57° 45' 48.96"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Carina
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    20,000 light-years (6,130 parsecs)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    Data of Westerlund 2 were obtained from the HST proposals 14038: A. Nota (ESA/STScI), E. Sabbi and C. Christian (STScI), E. Grebel and P. Zeidler (Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg), M. Tosi (INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna), A. Bonanos (National Observatory of Athens, Astronomical Institute), and S. de Mink (University of Amsterdam); and 14039: Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, J. Mack, L. Frattare, S. Meyett, M. Livio, and C. Christian (STScI/AURA), K. Noll (NASA/GSFC), A. Nota (STScI/ESA), and E. Sabbi (STScI).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/IR
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    September 2013 - November 2014, Total Exposure Time: 23,074 seconds
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    ACS/WFC: F555W (V) and F814W (I) WFC3/IR: F125W (J)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Westerlund 2, Gum 29
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Cluster and Starforming Region
  • Release Date
    April 23, 2015
  • Science Release
    Hubble Space Telescope Celebrates 25 Years of Unveiling the Universe
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team

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Westerlund 2: Detail 2
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and the WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample broad and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F555W (V) Green: F555W (V) and F814W (I) Red: F814W (I)

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Details

Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov