NASA unveils cosmic wreath: A glimpse into the early universe
NASA has prepared a truly stellar gift - a new image of the star cluster NGC 602, located 200,000 light-years from Earth.
The new image is the result of collaboration between some of the most advanced space telescopes in the world. The data were prepared by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. The joint work depicts the star cluster NGC 602. This stellar "wreath" is located on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, approximately 200,000 light-years away from our planet.
This is a peculiar formation of young stars from the early universe
NGC 602 is an exceptional formation of young, hot blue stars. As NASA reports, "arranged in the shape of a Christmas wreath, the cluster formed due to a gas cloud collapsing." The gas from which they were formed still envelops them. NASA describes it as "one can see how their radiation pierces the cluster and moves towards the blue stars." Astronomers note this gas differs from that found in the much larger Milky Way.
This is because, as NASA explains, the gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud, where they are located, contains fewer heavy elements — created by the explosion and rebuilding of many generations of stars — than the Milky Way. Astronomers believe that NGC 602 is a valuable analogue of stars formed billions of years ago when the universe was younger. The NGC 602 cluster may give us a glimpse of the early universe.
Collaboration of two advanced telescopes
The new image, which NASA shared for the holidays, is a composite of data collected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the most powerful X-ray telescope in the world, alongside a previously published image from the James Webb Space Telescope. The dark ring resembling a wreath visible in Webb's data (orange, yellow, green, and blue) consists of dense dust-filled clouds.
According to NASA, the red X-ray data from Chandra reveals the presence of young, massive stars producing high-energy radiation. The orange, yellow, green, and blue infrared data illustrate this region's intricate structures of dust and gas. Combined, this data portrays the stellar life cycle, from star formation to the dispersal of stellar material.
