Extreme Star Formation in the Massive Young Cluster Westerlund 1
Résumé
We propose to extend Spitzer's study of massive star formation to the massive cluster Westerlund 1, which at ~4 kpc is the closest and most massive 'Super Star Cluster' known in the Galaxy. Star formation may have proceeded differently in this region, having created a higher overall density of coeval massive stars. The proposed observations will allow us to compare star formation in this region to that seen near the Sun, in the massive Cygnus-X complex, and in the outer Galaxy (coming from the studies of W5, the Cycle-5 SMOG project, and GLIMPSE360), and therefore to complete a more representative view of star formation in the Galaxy.