The Milky Way galaxy’s RSGC1 is a massive young open star cluster. It was discovered in data from infrared surveys in 2006. The cluster is located in the constellation Scutum, approximately 6.6 kpc from the Sun. It is most likely located at the junction of the Milky Way’s northern end of the Long Bar and the inner portion of the Scutum–Centaurus Arm, one of the galaxy’s two major spiral arms.
So far, 12 red supergiants have been discovered. These are massive young stars that are burning helium in their cores. One yellow hypergiant and one intermediate are also present. The cluster is located in the constellation Scutum, approximately 6.6 kpc from the Sun. It is located at the junction of the Milky Way’s northern end of the Long Bar and the inner portion of the Scutum–Centaurus Arm, one of the galaxy’s two major spiral arms.
RSGC1 is thought to be 10-14 million years old. The cluster has been heavily obscured and cannot be seen in visible light. It is close to the red supergiant clusters Stephenson 2, RSGC3, Alicante 7, Alicante 8, and Alicante 10. The mass of RSGC1 is estimated to be 30 thousand solar masses, making it one of the Galaxy’s most massive open clusters.
Type II supernovas will be formed by the observed red supergiants with masses of about 16–20 solar masses. The cluster has been heavily obscured and cannot be seen in visible light. It is close to the Stephenson 2, RSGC3, and Alicante 8 groups of red supergiants. The mass of RSGC1 is estimated to be 30 thousand solar masses, making it one of the Galaxy’s most massive open clusters.
Type II supernova progenitors are observed red supergiants with masses of about 16–20 solar masses. Over 200 main-sequence stars with masses greater than 8 M☉ have been discovered, allowing the distance to be calculated using main-sequence fitting. Fourteen members of the red supergiant have been identified.
The cluster spans about 6′ of the sky and contains a core group of 26 red supergiants, the Milky Way’s largest known population, which was discovered in a 2007 study. The cluster is estimated to be 17 ± 3 million years old. The brightest star in the K-band that was in the same line of sight as the cluster (St2-18) was assigned the identifier 1 in the study. The researchers concluded that the star had significant infrared excess and could be a red hypergiant like VY Canis Majoris.
