Carina OB1 is a giant

OB association In astronomy, stellar kinematics is the observational study or measurement of the kinematics or motions of stars through space. Stellar kinematics encompasses the measurement of stellar velocities in the Milky Way and its satellites as well as t ...

in the

Carina Nebula The Carina Nebula or Eta Carinae Nebula (catalogued as NGC 3372; also known as the Great Carina Nebula) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Wa ...

, which is home to some of the most massive and luminous stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. It includes the young star clusters

Collinder 228 Collinder 228 is an open cluster within the southern part of the Carina Nebula NGC 3372, about 25' south of η Carinae Eta Carinae (η Carinae, abbreviated to η Car), formerly known as Eta Argus, is a stellar system containing at l ...

, NGC 3293, NGC 3324, IC 2581, Trumpler 14,

Trumpler 15 Trumpler 15 is an open cluster in the constellation Carina Carina ( ) is a constellation in the southern sky. Its name is Latin for the keel of a ship, and it was the southern foundation of the larger constellation of Argo Navis (the ship '' ...

and Trumpler 16, the last being the home of Eta Carinae. It also includes another massive and luminous star, HD 93129A. It is approximately from Earth. It is one of the largest known stellar associations, along with Sagittarius OB5 and

Cygnus OB2 Cygnus OB2 is an OB association that is home to some of the most massive and most luminous stars known, including suspected Luminous blue variable Cyg OB2 #12. It also includes one of the largest known stars, NML Cygni. The region is em ...

. It is much easier to see than that of the other associations since Carina OB1 has relatively little dust extinction in its region. Together with Carina OB2, they compromise the most massive stellar grouping known in the galaxy. Carina OB1 is about across, and is the most massive stellar association in the Milky Way Galaxy since it lies within an active emission nebula. It contains many hot luminous stars which share common characteristics.

References

Carina Nebula Stellar associations Carina (constellation) {{star-cluster-stub