Discovering Westerlund 1: The Massive Star Cluster Illuminated by the James Webb Space Telescope

Liputan6.com, Jakarta – A star group is a group of stars that come together and stick together due to gravitational attraction. Astronomers have discovered millions of star clusters, and Westerlund 1 is one of them.

West Side 1 one of the largest and densest clusters of galaxies ever found in the Milky Way galaxy. This large star cluster is located about 12,000 light years from Earth, directly in the constellation Ara.

Recently, the James Webb Space Telescope revealed a stunning image of Westerlund 1 shining brightly in the darkness of space. This group was discovered by the Swedish astronomer Bengt Westerlund in 1961.

Since then, Westerlund 1 has become a key target for astronomers to understand the true environments that influence the process of star and planet formation. Astronomers estimate that Westerlund 1 has a mass between 50,000 and 100,000 times that of the Sun.

This place is a natural laboratory for astronomers to study the real environments of star formation. Launching the European Space Agency (ESA) page on Tuesday (15/10/2024), the Westerlund 1 star cluster is full of massive stars that shine as brightly as millions of suns.

Westerlund 1 is filled with young stars measuring six light years across. The stars include very massive types, such as Wolf-Rayet stars, OB supergiants, and yellow hypergiants.

In the next 40 million years, Westerlund 1 is expected to be the site of more than 1,500 supernovae. This phenomenon makes it one of the most remote places in the universe.

One of the stars in this group is WD 1-26 or Westerlund 1-26. This red giant star was declared the largest star after it beat NML Cygni.

Quoted from the Space page on Tuesday (15/10/2024) Westerlund 1-26 is located on the edge of the Westerlund 1 cluster This massive star has a diameter of 3.54 billion kilometers.

If placed in the center of our solar system, its surface would circle the orbit of Saturn. Since it was first discovered by Bengt Westerlund, the star Westerlund 1-26 has been emitting strong radio signals.

It means Bintang It is so active, astronomers think it is throwing off high-level CME storms.

(Tiffany)