| Cygnus OB2 | |
|---|---|
Cygnus OB2 in the light of H-Alpha; 2.5° view Credit: IPHAS |
|
| Observation data (J2000.0 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Cygnus |
| Right ascension | 20h 33m 12s[1] |
| Declination | 41° 19′ 00″ |
| Distance | 4.7 kly (1450 pc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 6.1 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 60.0′ |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Estimated age | 1 to 7 million years |
| Notable features | - |
| See also: Open cluster, List of open clusters | |
Cygnus OB2 is an OB association that is home to some of the most massive and most luminous stars known, including Cyg OB2 #8 and Cyg OB2 #12. The region is embedded within a wider region of star formation known as Cygnus X, which is one of the most luminous objects in the sky at radio wavelengths. The region is approximately 4,700 light years from Earth in the constellation of Cygnus.
The young cluster is one of the largest known, and the largest in the northern hemisphere. Although it is over ten times more massive than the famous Orion Nebula, Cygnus OB2 is much less well known due to its location behind a massive dust cloud known as the Cygnus Rift, which obscures many of the stars in it. Despite this, recent surveys ranging from radio to X-ray wavelengths have observed the region to incredible depths in an attempt to gain a better understanding of how the processes of star and planet formation occur on such large scales, compared to the small scales of nearby regions. These studies include observations with some of the world's premier astronomical observatories including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Herschel Space Observatory.