A super star cluster (SSC) is a very massive young open cluster that is thought to be the precursor of a globular cluster.[1] These clusters called "super" because they are relatively more luminous and contain more mass than other young star clusters.[2] The SSC, however, does not have to physically be larger than other clusters of lower mass and luminosity.[3] They typically contain a very large number of young, massive stars that ionize a surrounding HII region or a so-called "Ultra dense HII region (UDHII)" in the Milky Way Galaxy[4] or in other galaxies (however, SSCs do not always have to be inside an HII region). An SSC's HII region is in turn surrounded by a cocoon of dust. In many cases, the stars and the HII regions will be invisible to observations in certain wavelengths of light, such as the visible spectrum, due to high levels of extinction. As a result, the youngest SSCs are best observed and photographed in radio and infrared.[5] SSCs, such as Westerlund 1 (Wd1), have been found in the Milky Way Galaxy.[6] However, most have been observed in farther regions of the universe. In the galaxy M82 alone, 197 young SSCs have been observed and identified using the Hubble Space Telescope.[7]
Generally, SSCs have been seen to form in the interactions between galaxies and in regions of high amounts of star formation with high enough pressures to satisfy the properties needed for the formation of a star cluster. These regions can include newer galaxies with much new star formation, dwarf starburst galaxies,[8] arms of a spiral galaxy that have a high star formation rate, and in the merging of galaxies. In an Astronomical Journal published in 1996, using pictures taken in the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum by the Hubble Space Telescope of star-forming rings in five different barred galaxies, numerous star clusters were found in clumps within the rings which had high rates of star formation. These clusters were found to have masses of about to, ages of about 100 Myr, and radii of about 5 pc, and are thought to evolve into globular clusters later in their lifetimes.[9] These properties match those found in SSCs.
The typical characteristics and properties of SSCs:
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Given the relatively small size of SSCs compared to their host galaxies, astronomers have had trouble finding them in the past due to the limited resolution of the ground-based and space telescopes at the time. With the introduction of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) in the 1990s, finding SSCs (as well as other astronomical objects) became much easier thanks to the higher resolution of the HST (angular resolution of ~1/10 arcsecond[10]). This has not only allowed astronomers to see SSCs, but also allowed for them to measure their properties as well as the properties of the individual stars within the SSC. Recently, a massive star, Westerlund 1-26, was discovered in the SSC Westerlund 1 in the Milky Way. The radius of this star is thought to be larger than the radius of Jupiter's orbit around the Sun.[11] Essentially, the HST searches the night sky, specifically nearby galaxies, for star clusters and "dense stellar objects" to see if any have the properties similar to that of a SSC or an object that would, in its lifetime, evolve into a globular cluster.
| Name | Contained in Galaxy | Comments | Refs / Notes | Pictures | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westerlund 1 (Wd1) | Milky Way Galaxy | First SSC discovered in the Milky Way Galaxy. This SSC was discovered by Bengt Westerlund in 1961. | [12] | ||
| NGC 3603 | Milky Way Galaxy | Candidate for SSC | [13] | ||
| NGC 2070 | Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) | Candidate for SSC | |||
| R136 | Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) | The prototype SSC, inside NGC 2070 | [14] | ||
| NGC 346 | Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) | May be a SSC | [15] | ||
| NGC 1569 A1 and A2 (NGC 1569 A) | NGC 1569 | Clusters A1 and A2 formed SSC A | [16] | ||
| NGC 1569 B | NGC 1569 | It contains older population of red giants and red supergiants | [17] | ||
| NGC 5253's central SSC | NGC 5253 | It is very dusty, and is the site of ongoing star formation. Particularly rich in O-type stars, containing at least 7,000. |