Star formation in our Galaxy typically occurs in low and intermediate-mass environments counting a few 10^2, 10^3 stars. However, a few more extreme star forming environments exist, where hundreds of thousands to millions of stars form in dense regions, often in single events of star formation. Often called “starburst regions”, they are quite rare in our Galaxy today, with a few examples known, while they are common in galaxies experiencing epochs of intense star formation activity (such as interacting galaxies) and in the early Universe.

With a distance of 3.87 kpc from the Sun, and an estimated initial mass of 52000 solar masses, Westerlund 1 is the closest starburst cluster to the Sun. It offers the unique possibility to study star and planet formation, the early stellar evolution and the physics of compact objects in a starburst environment.

In this talk I will present the EWOCS project (Extended Westerlund One Chandra, and JWST, Survey) which is based on a 1Msec Chandra/ACIS-I Large Project, oncoming JWST observations of Westerlund 1, and other data at high spatial resolution (GEMS/GSAOI, HST, etc..). I will discuss the objectives of the project and present the status of the art of data analysis.

The Antikythera Mechanism is the first computer in human history. Built during the 2nd century BC, it was retrieved in 1901 from an ancient shipwreck and is nowadays partially preserved in 82 petrified and fragile fragments. Its functions and use remained a mystery until recently. With the use of innovative techniques, we now know that it was a mechanical model of the cosmos, an advanced machine that displayed the position of the Sun, the Moon and the five naked-eye planets on the sky. The recently formed solar, lunar and first planetary theories of ancient greek astronomy were converted into elaborate axles and gears that calculated the exact positions of the celestial bodies. To its basic function, many more had been added, such as a lunisolar and an astronomical calendar and the prediction of eclipses, resulting in a highly complex machine, fully covered with dials, pointers and texts. The Antikythera Mechanism is nowadays the unique preserved artefact of the technical sophistication that these models of the cosmos finally reached.