
Super Star Cluster Westerlund 1

by Science Photo Library
Title
Super Star Cluster Westerlund 1
Artist
Science Photo Library
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
Super star cluster Westerlund 1, optical image. This star cluster is the first super star cluster to be discovered in our Milky Way galaxy. It is only six light years across but contains around 500,000 stars, many of which are huge and extremely powerful. Most are hot blue supergiants, but they appear reddish as they are seen through interstellar dust and gas. Westerlund 1 lies 10,000 light years from Earth, in the constellation Ara. Data from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2 metre telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory, Chile.
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Uploaded
September 26th, 2018
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