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Nasa released a striking new image of the star cluster NGC 602 on Tuesday. The image reveals the cluster’s distinctive shape, which resembles a ‘holiday wreath.’ Nasa describes the wreath-like appearance as symbolic of the cycle of life and death.
The image was captured using data from the James Webb Space Telescope and the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Cosmic wreath: NGC 602
The NGC 602 star cluster is located about 200,000 light-years from Earth in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way.
The cluster, captured using data from the James Webb Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory, features a ring-shaped formation of dense dust clouds. Webb’s imaging shows the ring in vivid green, yellow, blue, and orange hues. Chandra’s X-rays, displayed in red, reveal young, massive stars illuminating the formation and emitting high-energy light into space.
Nasa explains that the X-rays come from winds generated by the young, massive stars scattered across the cluster.
The stars in NGC 602 are notable for having fewer heavy elements compared to the Sun. This condition resembles the environment from billions of years ago, providing scientists with an opportunity to study the early universe.
NGC 602 reflects the stellar lifecycle of star formation and destruction observed in the cluster.
Christmas tree cluster: NGC 2264
In December 2023, Nasa shared an image of NGC 2264, also known as the “Christmas Tree Cluster.” This star cluster, located about 2,500 light-years away, features cone-shaped green gas clouds that resemble a Christmas tree.
The image combines optical data from astrophotographer Michael Clow with X-ray data from Chandra, revealing white, blue, red, and purple specks of light representing stars. Along with the green gaseous formation, this creates the appearance of a “cosmic Christmas tree,” resembling a decorated tree. These stars are young, aged between one and five million years, compared to the Sun’s 5 billion years.
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