The sparkling centerpiece of Hubble's silver anniversary tribute is Westerlund 2, a giant cluster of about 3,000 stars located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina. Hubble's near-infrared imaging camera pierces through the dusty veil enshrouding the stellar nursery, giving astronomers a clear view of the dense concentration of stars in the central cluster. The 2-million-year-old giant star cluster measures about 6 to 13 light-years across and contains some of our galaxy's hottest, brightest, most massive stars.
Credits
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Westerlund 2, Gum 29 |
| Object Description | Cluster and Starforming Region |
| R.A. Position | 10h 23m 58.1s |
| Dec. Position | -57° 45' 48.96" |
| Constellation | Carina |
| Distance | 20,000 light-years (6,130 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data of Westerlund 2 were obtained from the HST proposals : 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 : 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 | HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | September 2013 - November 2014, Total Exposure Time: 23,074 seconds |
| Filters | ACS/WFC: F555W (V) and F814W (I) WFC3/IR: F125W (J) |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The 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. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
