Galactic Holiday Wonders: James Webb and Chandra Unveil a Cosmic 'Christmas Wreath' in Our Neighboring Galaxy!

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What it is: NGC 602, a stellar cluster.

Where it is: Located 200,000 light-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy.

When it was shared: December 17, 2024.

Why it’s significant: The Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) often goes unnoticed. It is observable only from the Southern Hemisphere and is eclipsed by the adjacent Large Magellanic Cloud. Nevertheless, akin to its larger counterpart, the SMC is a dwarf galaxy orbiting our Milky Way galaxy, serving as an excellent laboratory to investigate the processes of star formation in a galaxy that is in proximity, yet markedly different from the Milky Way.

A prime illustration is the Christmas wreath-shaped NGC 602, an assembly of youthful, burning blue stars that emerged from the implosion of a gas cloud. The gas from which they originated still envelops them, yet their emissions can be observed penetrating through it, molding it, and leaving behind towering columns of gas directed towards the blue stars.

This gas, however, differs from that found in the considerably larger Milky Way. The gas in the SMC has a lower concentration of heavy elements — forged by numerous cycles of stellar explosions and rebirth — compared to the gas in the Milky Way. Astronomers believe NGC 602 is a significant analog for stars birthed billions of years ago, during the universe’s infancy. NGC 602 might provide insights into what that primeval universe resembled.

Related: Space photo of the week: Hubble spots a ‘cannonball galaxy’ racing through the cosmos

a composite image of NGC 602

An unedited image of NGC 602. (Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Clow, M.; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand)

This image is a composite of information gathered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory — the most powerful X-ray telescope globally — together with the infrared-sensitive James Webb Space Telescope.

Chandra’s X-ray information, depicted in red, exposes the existence of youthful, massive stars that are radiating high-energy emissions. The orange, yellow, green, and blue infrared information from JWST accentuates the complex structures of dust and gas in the area. Together, these data provide a perspective on the life cycle of stars, from their origin to the dispersal of stellar material.

The newly combined image of NGC 602 was published by NASA to celebrate the holiday season, along with a new animated depiction of NGC 2264, commonly referred to as the “Christmas Tree Cluster.” This image merges X-ray information from Chandra with optical images captured by Arizona-based astrophotographer Michael Clow in November.

For more breathtaking space images, take a look at our Space Photo of the Week archives.

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Galactic Holiday Wonders: James Webb and Chandra Unveil a Cosmic ‘Christmas Wreath’ in Our Neighboring Galaxy!

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