Westerlund 2
| Westerlund 2 | |
|---|---|
The cluster Westerlund 2 and its surroundings Credit: Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 10h 23m 58.1s |
| Declination | −57° 45′ 49″ |
| Distance | 20000 ly (6000 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.5 |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Contains some of the hottest, brightest, and most massive stars. | |
| Other designations | ESO 127-18, VDBH 95 |
| Associations | |
| Constellation | Carina |
Westerlund 2 is an obscured compact young star cluster (perhaps even a super star cluster) 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.