Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2020 January 11

                             NGC 602 and Beyond
    Image Credit: 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.

                       Tomorrow's picture: blue corona
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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