![\"Near](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/ngc602.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>Since antiquity, wreaths have symbolized the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It is fitting then that one of the best places for astronomers to learn more about the stellar lifecycle resembles a giant holiday wreath itself.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0star cluster<\/a>\u00a0NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the\u00a0Milky Way<\/a>, about 200,000\u00a0light-years<\/a>\u00a0from Earth. The\u00a0stars<\/a>\u00a0in NGC 602 have fewer heavier\u00a0elements<\/a>\u00a0compared 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.<\/p>\n This new image combines data from\u00a0NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory<\/a>\u00a0with a previously released image from the agency\u2019s\u00a0James Webb Space Telescope<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0X-rays<\/a>\u00a0from Chandra (red) show young, massive stars that are illuminating the wreath, sending high-energy light into\u00a0interstellar space<\/a>. These X-rays are powered by winds flowing from the young, massive stars that are sprinkled throughout the cluster. The extended cloud in the Chandra data likely comes from the overlapping X-ray glow of thousands of young, low-mass stars in the cluster.<\/p>\n In addition to this cosmic wreath,\u00a0a new version of the \u201cChristmas tree cluster\u201d<\/a>\u00a0is also now available. Like NGC 602, NGC 2264 is a cluster of young stars between one and five million years old. (For comparison, the Sun is a middle-aged star about 5 billion years old \u2014 about 1,000 times older.) In this image of NGC 2264, which is much closer than NGC 602 at a distance of about 2,500 light-years from Earth, Chandra data (red, purple, blue, and white) has been combined with optical data (green and violet) captured from by astrophotographer Michael Clow from his telescope in Arizona in November 2024.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory\u2019s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n Read more from NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory.<\/a><\/p>\n Learn more about the Chandra X-ray Observatory and its mission here:<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/chandra<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/chandra.si.edu<\/a><\/p>\n This release includes two composite images, each featuring a star cluster that strongly resembles holiday greenery.<\/p>\n The first image depicts star cluster NGC 602 in vibrant and festive colors. The cluster includes a giant dust cloud ring, shown in greens, yellows, blues, and oranges. The green hues and feathery edges of the ring cloud create the appearance of a wreath made of evergreen boughs. Hints of red representing X-rays provide shading, highlighting layers within the wreath-like ring cloud.<\/p>\n The image is aglow with specks and dots of colorful, festive light, in blues, golds, whites, oranges, and reds. These lights represent stars within the cluster. Some of the lights gleam with diffraction spikes, while others emit a warm, diffuse glow. Upon closer inspection, many of the glowing specks have spiraling arms, indicating that they are, in fact, distant galaxies.<\/p>\n The second image in today\u2019s release is a new depiction of NGC 2264, known as the \u201cChristmas Tree Cluster\u201d. Here, wispy green clouds in a conical shape strongly resemble an evergreen tree. Tiny specks of white, blue, purple, and red light, stars within the cluster, dot the structure, turning the cloud into a festive, cosmic Christmas tree!<\/p>\n Megan Watzke Lane Figueroa<\/a><\/figure>Visual Description<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nExplore More<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n