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Star-forming emission nebula · evidence and sources

Westerlund 2

Also known as Wd 2, Gum 29, RCW 49.

Catalog Position basis, the same label the app shows on the selection card.

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Every aspect, with its origin

One record per aspect. The origin says what kind of thing each value is; the source says where it came from; the limit says what it cannot tell you.

ObservedCatalogComputedReconstructedIllustrativeUndocumented
Position Catalog

Image-field position and adopted distance

Westerlund 2 image-field center is placed at J2000 RA 10.4 h, Dec -57.8° in Carina, at an adopted distance of 20,000 light-years.

EpochJ2000
LimitImage north is -8.8 degrees right of vertical. Line-of-sight thickness is illustrative.
Physical data Catalog

Image field at the adopted distance

Westerlund 2 (star-forming emission nebula; central source Westerlund 2, embedded stellar population): projected footprint at the adopted distance 43.3 × 32.4 light-years; outer radius used for arrival 21.6 light-years.

Methodmeasured sky-plane structure with constrained display depth
Appearance Reconstructed

Sky-plane structure with a display depth

Hubble optical and near-infrared exposures reveal Westerlund 2 within the larger Gum 29 / RCW 49 region. This field is a close panorama, not the entire complex. Projected structure follows the credited observation at its published angular scale and an approximate adopted distance. Shallow depth is illustrative, not measured tomography. The source palette is preserved; brightness is adjusted for the navigable view.

Methodmeasured sky-plane structure with constrained display depth
LimitEmission points and knots are deterministic presentation samples, not individually catalogued gas parcels.

What is not measured

  • Appearance: a reconstruction from measurements, not a direct observation. Sky-plane structure with a display depth. Emission points and knots are deterministic presentation samples, not individually catalogued gas parcels.

Sources cited

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