Images by Date
Images by Category
Solar System
Stars
Exoplanets
White Dwarfs
Supernovas
Neutron Stars
Black Holes
Milky Way Galaxy
Normal Galaxies
Quasars
Galaxy Clusters
Cosmology/Deep Field
Miscellaneous
Images by Interest
Space Scoop for Kids
4K JPG
Multiwavelength
Sky Map
Constellations
Photo Blog
Top Rated Images
Image Handouts
Desktops
Fits Files
Image Tutorials
Photo Album Tutorial
False Color
Cosmic Distance
Look-Back Time
Scale & Distance
Angular Measurement
Images & Processing
AVM/Metadata
Image Use Policy
Web Shortcuts
Chandra Blog
RSS Feed
Chronicle
Email Newsletter
News & Noteworthy
Image Use Policy
Questions & Answers
Glossary of Terms
Download Guide
Get Adobe Reader
Westerlund 2: A Stellar Sight
Westerlund 2


This Chandra X-ray Observatory image shows Westerlund 2, a young star cluster with an estimated age of about one or two million years. Until recently little was known about this cluster because it is heavily obscured by dust and gas. However, using infrared and X-ray observations to overcome this obscuration, Westerlund 2 has become regarded as one of the most interesting star clusters in the Milky Way galaxy. It contains some of the hottest, brightest and most massive stars known.

This Chandra image of Westerlund 2 shows low energy X-rays in red, intermediate energy X-rays in green and high energy X-rays in blue. The image shows a very high density of massive stars that are bright in X-rays, plus diffuse X-ray emission.

An incredibly massive double star system called WR20a is visible as the bright yellow point just below and to the right of the cluster's center. This system contains stars with masses of 82 and 83 times that of the Sun. The dense streams of matter steadily ejected by these two massive stars, called stellar winds, collide with each other and produce copious amounts of X-ray emission. This collision is seen at different angles as the stars orbit around each other every 3.7 days. Several other bright X-ray sources may also show evidence for collisions between winds in massive binary systems.

Fast Facts for Westerlund 2:
Credit  NASA/CXC/Univ. de Liège/Y. Naze et al
Release Date  January 23, 2008
Scale  Image is 8.4 arcmin across.
Category  Normal Stars & Star Clusters
Coordinates (J2000)  RA 10h 23m 58.10s | Dec -57° 45' 49.0"
Constellation  Carina
Observation Date  Three pointings between 08/23/2003 - 09/28/2006
Observation Time  38 hours
Obs. ID  3501, 6410, 6411
Instrument  ACIS
Also Known As Wd 2
References Naze, Y. et al, 2008 A&A, 483, 171; arXiv:0801.0647
Color Code  Red (0.3-1.0 keV); Green (1.0-2.0 keV); Blue (2.0-10.0 keV)
X-ray
Distance Estimate  About 20,000 light years
distance arrow
Visitor Comments (2)

Thanks so much for notifying us of this error. We have updated it.

Posted by CXC on Friday, 05.22.15 @ 10:11am


Constellation name of Westerlund 2 may be not Centaurus but Carina.
please confirm it.

Posted by A.NIWA on Sunday, 04.26.15 @ 06:36am


Rate This Image

Rating: 3.8/5
(501 votes cast)
Download & Share

Desktops

1024x768 - 280.7 kb
1280x1024 - 382 kb
1680x1050 - 458.7 kb
More Information
More Images
Spitzer Infrared Images
of Westerlund 2
Jpg, Tif
Illustration

More Images
More Releases
Westerlund 2
Westerlund 2
(14 Oct 16)

Related Images
Coronet Cluster
Coronet Cluster
(13 Sep 07)

Westerlund 1
Westerlund 1
(02 Nov 05)

Trumpler 14
Trumpler 14
(31 Aug 05)

NGC 3576
NGC 3576
(26 Sep 06)

Related Information
Related Podcast
Top Rated Images
Brightest Cluster Galaxies

30 Doradus B

SDSS J1531+3414




FaceBookTwitterYouTubeFlickr