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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA, the
Hubble Heritage Team
(STScI / AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team
Explanation:
Located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina,
the young cluster and starforming region
Westerlund 2 fills this cosmic scene.
Captured with Hubble's cameras in near-infrared and visible light,
the stunning image is a
celebration of the 25th anniversary
of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990.
The cluster's dense concentration of luminous, massive stars is about
10 light-years across.
Strong winds and radiation from those massive young stars have sculpted
and shaped the region's gas and dust,
into starforming pillars that point back to the central cluster.
Red dots surrounding the bright stars are the cluster's
faint newborn stars, still within their natal gas and dust cocoons.
But brighter blue stars scattered around are likely not in the
Westerlund 2 cluster
and instead lie in the foreground of the
Hubble anniversary field of view.
(STScI / AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: star cluster
Publications with words: star cluster
See also: