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Westerlund 2 and Gum 29

Westerlund 2 and Gum 29

  • 14.09.2020

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This image was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in near-infrared light. A star cluster composed of thousands of stars can be seen on the right side, known as Westerlund 2. There is a colourful nebula next to it called Gum 29.

Gum 29 is located 20,000 light-years away from us in the constellation Carina. It is an active star-forming region with rich colours and plenty of pillars gases. Westerlund 2 contains numerous hot, bright, and massive young stars. The stars are unleashing torrents of stellar winds that push the molecules in Gum 29 outward, forming a huge cavity around the star cluster. The blue stars seen throughout the image are stars closer to us in the Milky Way galaxy not associated with Westerlund 2 or Gum 29.

More information: https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2020/15/4667-Image

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