Pretty In Pink 2 June
A new composite image of the Westerlund 2 star cluster combines X-ray data from Chandra and infrared data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The image reveals a vibrant stellar nursery located 20,000 light-years away in the constellation Carina.
Why it matters
Combining multi-wavelength data allows astronomers to better understand the life cycle of stars and the composition of active stellar nurseries.
This image of Westerlund 2 released on March 19, 2026, features Chandra X-ray Observatory data (pink) and infrared data from NASA'S James Webb Space Telescope (red, orange, green, cyan, and blue). Scores of gleaming stars ringed in neon pink stretch across the frame, highlighting a cluster where stars are between one and three million years old. Brick-orange dust clouds along the bottom edge illustrate the raw materials of this active stellar nursery.
The article is a scientific report on astronomical findings.
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