Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Carina (Car)  ·  Contains:  NGC 3247
Westerlund 2, Dean Carr
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Westerlund 2

Westerlund 2, Dean Carr
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Westerlund 2

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Description

This image of the Westerlund 2 star cluster is a cropped portion of the image of NGC 3247 (also known as Gum 29, RCW 49 or the Whirling Dervish Nebula). Capture details are the same as for NGC 3247.

Westerlund 2 itself includes some of the hottest, brightest and most massive stars known.

More generally, NGC 3247 is variously listed as being between 14,000-25,000 light years from Earth. The nebula is home to over 2,000 stars and contains more than 300 protostars.

This image was processed in PixInsight using Ha, OIII and SII filters. The unusual HOS palette was used to provide more color variation between the various elements of Westerlund 2. Short-exposure RGB image data was also blended with stars in the NB image. The final image was re-sampled by 120% for aesthetic reasons.

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Westerlund 2, Dean Carr