NGC 602 and Beyond
Explanation:
The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like pearls, but look beyond.
Near the outskirts of the
Small Magellanic Cloud,
a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant,
lies 5 million year young star cluster
NGC 602.
Surrounded by natal gas and dust,
NGC 602 is featured in this
stunning Hubble image of the region.
Fantastic ridges and swept
back shapes strongly suggest that
energetic radiation and shock waves from
NGC 602's
massive young stars have eroded the
dusty material
and triggered a progression of
star formation moving away from the cluster's center.
At the estimated distance of the
Small Magellanic Cloud,
the featured picture spans about 200 light-years, but
a
tantalizing assortment of
background galaxies are also visible in
this sharp
multi-colored view.
The
background galaxies are hundreds of
millions of light-years or more
beyond NGC 602.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
