Nasa unveils image of wreath-like cluster, symbolising life, death, and rebirth of stars
Nasa released a striking new image of the star cluster NGC 602 on Tuesday. The image revealed the cluster’s distinctive shape, which resembles a ‘holiday wreath.’ Nasa described the wreath-like appearance as symbolising 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 showed 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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