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Super star cluster

Type of very massive young open cluster thought to be the precursor of a globular cluster

A super star cluster (SSC) is a very massive young open cluster that is thought to be the precursor of a globular cluster. | name-list-style = amp | name-list-style = amp

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, 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. These properties match those found in SSCs.

Characteristics and properties

The typical characteristics and properties of SSCs:

Mass \gtrsim
Radius ≈ 5 pc ≈
Age ≈ 100 Myr (although other sources state that observed SSCs have an age of 1 Gyr)
Large electron densities n_\text{e} = – (this is a property of the HII region associated with the SSC)
Pressures P/k_\text{B} = –. (this is a property of the HII region associated with the SSC)

Hubble Space Telescope contributions

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). 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. 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.

List of SSCs

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.		[[File:Westerlund 1.jpg	alt=Westerlund 1	center	thumb	Westerlund 1]]
NGC 3603	Milky Way Galaxy	Candidate for SSC		[[File:Stellar nursery NGC 3603.jpg	alt=\NGC 3603	center	thumb	NGC 3603]]
RCW 38	Milky Way Galaxy	Youngest SSC in the galaxy	{{cite journal	title=The Two Molecular Clouds in RCW 38: Evidence for the Formation of the Youngest Super Star Cluster in the Milky Way Triggered by Cloud-Cloud Collision
NGC 2070	Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)	Candidate for SSC		[[File:The Tarantula Nebula (30 Doradus or NGC 2070).jpg	alt=\NGC 2070	center	thumb	NGC 2070]]
R136	Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)	The prototype SSC, inside NGC 2070		[[File:Grand star-forming region R136 in NGC 2070 (captured by the Hubble Space Telescope).jpg	alt=R136 (Located in the Tarantula Nebula)	center	thumb	R136 (Located in the Tarantula Nebula)]]
H72.97-69.39	Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC)	Also known as HSO BMHERICC J072.9711-69.3911, it was discovered in 2017 in the star-forming region LMC N79. It overlaps with NGC 1722. Further studied with ALMA and JWST.		[[File:NGC 1722 NIRCam.jpg	alt=H72.97-69.39	center	thumb	NGC 1722 containing H72.97-69.39]]
NGC 346	Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC)	May be a SSC		[[File:Ngc346.jpg	alt=NGC 346	center	thumb	NGC 346]]
NGC 1569 A1 and A2 (NGC 1569 A)	NGC 1569	Clusters A1 and A2 formed SSC A		[[File:NGC 1569.jpg	alt=NGC 1569	thumb	NGC 1569	center]]
NGC 1569 B	NGC 1569	It contains older population of red giants and red supergiants		[[File:Starburst in a Dwarf Irregular Galaxy.jpg	alt=NGC 1569	thumb	NGC 1569	center]]
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.		[[File:A Peculiar Compact Blue Dwarf Galaxy.jpg	alt=NGC 5253	thumb	NGC 5253	center]]

References

Johnson, Kelsey. (2001). "The Properties of Super Star Clusters In A Sample of Starburst Galaxies". University of Colorado at Boulder.
de Grijs, Richard. (2003). ""Super" Star Clusters". Dynamics and Evolution of Dense Stellar Systems, 25th Meeting of the IAU, Joint Discussion 11, 18 July 2003, Sydney, Australia.
(2005-03-22). "Super Star Cluster Discovered in Our Own Milky Way - Universe Today". Universe Today.
(2005-01-01). "Young Super Star Clusters in the Starburst of M82: The Catalog". The Astrophysical Journal.
(2000). "The Star Clusters in the Starburst Irregular Galaxy NGC 1569". The Astronomical Journal.
(1996-06-01). "Hubble Space Telescope Ultraviolet Images of Five Circumnuclear Star-Forming Rings". The Astronomical Journal.
(2025-12-18). "NASA's Fermi Spots Young Star Cluster Blowing Gamma-Ray Bubbles - NASA Science".
"FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions".
Wallace, Amy. (March 10, 2017). "Hubble finds young super star cluster, giant star".
(2005). "On the massive stellar population of the super star cluster Westerlund 1". Astronomy and Astrophysics.
(2014). "Molecular Clouds Toward the Super Star Cluster Ngc 3603; Possible Evidence for a Cloud-Cloud Collision in Triggering the Cluster Formation". The Astrophysical Journal.
(1998). "Star Formation in R136: A Cluster of O3 Stars Revealed by ''Hubble'' Space Telescope ''Spectroscopy''". The Astrophysical Journal.
(2017-10-01). "The star-forming complex LMC-N79 as a future rival to 30 Doradus". Nature Astronomy.
"NGC 1722".
(2019-06-01). "ALMA Reveals Kinematics of Super Star Cluster Candidate H72.97-69.39 in LMC-N79". The Astrophysical Journal.
(2024-03-01). "JWST Mid-infrared Spectroscopy Resolves Gas, Dust, and Ice in Young Stellar Objects in the Large Magellanic Cloud". The Astrophysical Journal.
(2024-11-01). "Embedded Young Stellar Objects near H72.97-69.39: A Forming Super Star Cluster in N79". The Astrophysical Journal.
(2011). "NGC 346: Tracing the Evolution of a Super Star Cluster". Stellar Clusters & Associations: A Ria Workshop on Gaia.
(2000). "The Star Clusters in the Starburst Irregular Galaxy NGC 1569". The Astronomical Journal.
(2000). "The Star Clusters in the Starburst Irregular Galaxy NGC 1569". The Astronomical Journal.

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