NASA captures cosmic wreath in star cluster NGC 602 image

This new image was created by collaborating with some of the world's most advanced space telescopes. Data was compiled from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, depicting the star cluster NGC 602. This stellar "wreath" is located on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way—approximately 200,000 light-years from our planet.

NGC 602 is a distinctive cluster of young, hot blue stars that took shape when a gas cloud collapsed, forming a pattern resembling a Christmas wreath. These stars remain surrounded by the gas from which they originated. NASA explains that their radiation spreads through the cluster and extends toward the blue stars. Astronomers note that this gas differs from the type found in the much larger Milky Way.

This distinction is because, as NASA explains, the gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud, where these stars are located, contains fewer heavy elements—created by the explosion and rebirth of successive generations of stars—than the Milky Way. Astronomers believe that NGC 602 is a valuable analogue of stars formed billions of years ago when the universe was younger. The NGC 602 cluster may offer us a glimpse of this early universe.

The new image, which NASA shared for the holidays, is a composite of data collected by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the world's most powerful X-ray telescope, and a previously published image from the James Webb Space Telescope. In Webb's data, the dark ring resembling a wreath (displayed as orange, yellow, green, and blue) consists of dense, dust-laden clouds.

According to NASA, Chandra's red X-ray data reveal young, massive stars emitting high-energy radiation, while the orange, yellow, green, and blue infrared data showcase the intricate structures of dust and gas in the region. Combined, these data illustrate the stellar life cycle, from star formation to the dispersal of stellar material.