Westerlund 2 | |
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![]() The cluster Westerlund 2 and its surroundings Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | |
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Right ascension | 10h 23m 58.1s[1] |
Declination | −57° 45′ 49″[1] |
Distance | 20000 ly (6000 pc) |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.5[1] |
Physical characteristics | |
Contains some of the hottest, brightest, and most massive stars. | |
Other designations | ESO 127-18, VDBH 95[1] |
Associations | |
Constellation | Carina |
Westerlund 2 is an obscured compact young star cluster (perhaps even a super star cluster[2]) in the Milky Way, with an estimated age of about one or two million years. It contains some of the hottest, brightest, and most massive stars known. The cluster resides inside a stellar breeding ground known as Gum 29, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina. It is half a degree from the naked eye Cepheid variable V399 Carinae.[3]