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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA,
and the Hubble Heritage
Team (STScI /
AURA) -
ESA/Hubble Collaboration
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.
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 the
sharp Hubble view.
The background galaxies are hundreds of millions of
light-years or more beyond NGC 602.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
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: star formation - SMC - cluster
Publications with words: star formation - SMC - cluster
See also:
- NGC 1893 and the Tadpoles of IC 410
- Star Factory Messier 17
- APOD: 2023 August 28 Á Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula
- APOD: 2023 July 10 Á Stars, Dust and Nebula in NGC 6559
- NGC 1333: Stellar Nursery in Perseus
- APOD: 2023 March 21 Á Dark Nebulae and Star Formation in Taurus
- The Tadpole Nebula in Gas and Dust