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Credit & Copyright: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Univ.Potsdam/L.Oskinova et al;
Optical: Hubble: NASA/STScI; Infrared: Spitzer: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Explanation:
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,
augmented by images in the X-ray by
Chandra,
and in the infrared by
Spitzer.
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
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.
Optical: Hubble: NASA/STScI; Infrared: Spitzer: NASA/JPL-Caltech
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: open cluster - star formation
Publications with words: open cluster - star formation
See also: