The Gum 29 nebula is a star-forming region located about 20,000 light-years away from us toward the direction of the Carina constellation. At the core of the nebula is a cluster of several thousand stars called "Westerlund 2." These newborn stars are approximately 2 million years old, and their light illuminates, heats, and erodes the surrounding gas.

This visualization provides a 3D perspective on the nebula and the star cluster, utilizing both visible and infrared light observations. The flight traverses the foreground stars and approaches the lower left rim of the nebula. Passing through the wispy darker clouds on the near side, the journey reveals bright gas illuminated by the intense radiation of the newly formed star cluster. Within the nebula, several pillars of dark, dense gas are being shaped by the energetic light and strong stellar winds from the brilliant cluster of thousands of stars.

Note that the visualization is intended only as a scientifically reasonable interpretation and that distances within the model are significantly compressed.

Visualization Credits: -

J. Anderson, G. Bacon, L. Frattare, Z. Levay, and F. Summers (STScI);
Acknowledgment: The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), A. Nota (ESA/STScI), the Westerlund 2 Science Team, and ESO.

Music Credits: -

"The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)" by John Harrison with the Wichita State University Chamber Players is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.

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