The James Webb Space Telescope is continuously capturing images that are clearer and more detailed than ever seen before. One of the latest images shows a “super star cluster” known as Westerlund 1, boasting an abundant collection of heavenly bodies shining like gemstones in space. These young star clusters in the Milky Way are thousands of times bigger than our sun and are now rare to come by. Westerlund 1, the largest remaining super star cluster in our galaxy, is situated 12,000 light-years away and composed of massive stars up to 100,000 times the mass of our sun. Scientists estimate the cluster to be only 3.5 to 5 million years old, making it invaluable for studying the formation and demise of massive stars. With an expectation of producing 1,500 supernovae in less than 40 million years, the cluster presents a wealth of data on cosmic evolution. Astronomers utilized Webb’s Near-InfraRed Camera to capture the image, part of an ongoing survey of Westerlund 1 and another cluster to analyze star formation and evolution, recent work of which includes photographing a gravitationally lensed supernova that could provide insight into the rate of universe expansion.
