Home Blog James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Surprising Details of Westerlund 1 Star Cluster

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Surprising Details of Westerlund 1 Star Cluster

5
0


Using superior infrared imaging, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured unprecedented particulars of the supermassive star cluster Westerlund 1, positioned round 12,000 light-years from Earth. The findings, launched by the Extended Westerlund 1 and a pair of Open Clusters Survey (EWOCS), present essential insights into the cluster’s stellar composition and formation processes. Spanning over 6.6 light-years with a mass equal to 63,000 suns, Westerlund 1 is the closest supermassive star cluster to Earth and hosts a whole bunch of large stars in a dense configuration.

Unique Stellar Features Identified

Mario Giuseppe, crew chief on the Palermo Astronomical Observatory, told Space.com that observations have been prolonged to detect brown dwarfs—stars on the lowest finish of the mass spectrum. Giuseppe reportedly highlighted the potential to analyse the mass distribution and star formation mechanisms inside the cluster. This work is anticipated to refine the understanding of starburst environments and their affect on planetary improvement.

JWST’s devices, the Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) and the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), supplied deep imaging capabilities, revealing intricate gasoline and mud buildings surrounding Westerlund 1. This materials, believed to consequence from large stars’ closing evolutionary phases, challenges prior assumptions that younger clusters expel such remnants inside 1,000,000 years.

Wider Collaborative Research Efforts

EWOCS has utilised knowledge from different observatories, together with the Hubble Space Telescope, ALMA, and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Space Telescope, to enhance the JWST findings, as per a number of studies. Studies on Westerlund 1’s intracluster materials and high-energy phenomena, together with binary methods and developed stars, are anticipated within the subsequent few years.

The analysis, which additionally entails analysing the marginally youthful Westerlund 2 cluster, is anticipated to make clear star and planet formation underneath excessive circumstances. These findings have been revealed in Astronomy & Astrophysics and can be found as a preprint on arXiv.

 



Leave a Reply