Westerlund 1, the largest and closest super star cluster to Earth, is offering astronomers a deeper understanding of star formation thanks to new data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The cluster, which lies about 13,000 light-years away, is a galactic powerhouse where stars are vigorously being produced.
This revelation comes from the Extended Westerlund 1 and 2 Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS), led by Italian astronomers. Chandra’s 12-day observation has tripled the known X-ray sources in the cluster, identifying nearly 6,000 sources, including many young stars and a halo of hot gas.
Westerlund 1, aged between 3 and 5 million years, provides a unique laboratory for studying the impact of a super star cluster’s environment on star and planet formation. With a mass between 50,000 and 100,000 Suns, this cluster sheds light on an era when the Milky Way was bustling with star formation.
The findings are detailed in a paper published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, with further studies planned to delve into the cluster’s most intense X-ray sources and its overall mass.
For more information, visit NASA’s Chandra Observatory.