An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

One of the most massive → star formation regions in the → Galaxy, situated in the constellation → Aquila at the junction point of the → Galactic bar and the → spiral arms. It lies at a distance of about 6 kpc from the Sun and covers a vast area of the → Galactic plane with l = (29° to 32°) and b = (-1° to + 1°).

W 43 is a complex of more than 20 → molecular clouds in ¹³CO emission with systemic velocities ranging from 12 km s^-1 to 110 km s^-1. The total → virial mass is estimated to be several 10⁶Msun.

Close to its center, W 43-Main is undergoing a remarkably efficient episode of → star formation and qualifies as a mini-starburst Among the 15 dense cores of W 43-Main (0.2 pc FWHM size and 5 × 10⁵ cm^-3 density), three extremely massive, → dense cores are potentially forming → massive stars: W 43-MM1 (M = 3600 Msun), W 43-MM2 (M = 1600 Msun), and W 43-MM3 (M = 1000 Msun). Adjacent to W 43-Main is a → giant H II region, illuminated by a cluster of → Wolf-Rayet and → OB stars, emitting ~ 10⁵¹ → Lyman continuum photons per second and a → far-infrared  → continuum luminosity of ~ 3.5 × 10⁶  Lsun. It is not yet clear what the impact is of this → starburst cluster on the W 43-Main cloud located 2-10 pc away. With its special characteristics, W 43 represents a type of molecular cloud complex which hosts high luminosity embedded clusters. Other well-known examples are W 49 and W 51 (e.g., Nguyen Luong et., 2013, arXiv:1306.0547).

See also: Number 43 in the following catalog: Gart Westerhout, 1958, Bull. Astron. Inst. Netherlands, 14, 215, A survey of the continuous radiation from the galactic system at a frequency of 1390 Mc/s.