A Cosmic ‘Wreath’ from NASA: Star Cluster NGC 602 #SpaceSaturday
Combining data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, the above image of the star cluster NGC 602 in the hinterlands of the Small Magellanic Cloud has been dubbed a cosmic ‘wreath.’ If we can, for a moment, let ourselves be astonished by this image, we might correct — just a bit — the blasé stance that seems to have taken the place of the fiery yearning for space exploration that once roiled in the peoples of the Earth.
The James Webb Space Telescope in particular has both disrupted astrophysicists’ conceptions of the universe and reignited our sense of wonder at the cosmos. This image, and man others from NASA’s Image Archive, are available, free to the public. So if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by the holidays, let yourself settle into these glorious visions of our immense home. Here’s more from NASA:
The star cluster NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way, about 200,000 light-years from Earth. The stars in NGC 602 have fewer heavier elements compared to the Sun and most of the rest of the galaxy. Instead, the conditions within NGC 602 mimic those for stars found billions of years ago when the universe was much younger.
This new image combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory with a previously released image from the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. The dark ring-like outline of the wreath seen in Webb data (represented as orange, yellow, green, and blue) is made up of dense clouds of filled dust.
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