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NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery
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NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery
Credit & Copyright: H. Yang (UIUC), HST, NASA
Explanation: Scattered within this cavernous nebula, cataloged as NGC 604, are over 200 newly formed hot, massive, stars. At 1,500 light-years across, this expansive cloud of interstellar gas and dust is effectively a giant stellar nursery located some three million light-years distant in the spiral galaxy, M33. The newborn stars irradiate the gas with energetic ultraviolet light stripping electrons from atoms and producing a characteristic nebular glow. The details of the nebula's structure hold clues to the mysteries of star formation and galaxy evolution.

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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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Based on Astronomy Picture Of the Day

Publications with keywords: NGC 604 - star formation - emission nebula - M 33
Publications with words: NGC 604 - star formation - emission nebula - M 33
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