Map of the Universe

Westerlund 2

Open star cluster · Open star cluster in the Carina constellation

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Westerlund 2
Picture: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), and the Westerlund 2 Science Team, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

About Westerlund 2

Westerlund 2 is about 13,699 light-years from the Sun, so the light we see from it left about 13,699 years ago.

It is 27,088 light-years from the centre of the Milky Way.

The map lists it as an open star cluster and shows it among the stars around the Sun, drawn on the plane of the Milky Way.

Its distance or nature is debated, and the map shows one published value.

Distance contested: 13,700 light-years (Gaia era) or 20,000.

Key numbers

Distance13,699 light-years (4.20 kpc)
Distance from the Galactic centre27,088 light-years
Galactic coordinatesl = 284.30°, b = -0.30°
Sizeabout 6 light-years across

Where it is

Its place in the universe, from the inside out: Milky Way › Local Group › Virgo Supercluster › Laniakea Supercluster › Observable universe.

Zoom out to see it in context: Local Arm, a view about 12,000 light-years across.

From Wikipedia

Westerlund 2 is an obscured compact young 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 H II region RCW 49, located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Westerlund 2, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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