Posted on 04/13/2026 12:00:27 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like pearls, but look beyond. 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 featured 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.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
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Wow.
There is a profile of an alien’s kids face on the right hand side.
And right above where his ear is, is a set of udders.
The PacMan nebula.
Imagine all the galaxies out there.
âFull reverse, Mr. Scott! Give it everything sheâs got!â
âFull reverse, Mr. Scott! Give it everything sheâs got!â
What a beautiful image. I know the spikes on the brighter stars arenât real, but they sure do dress up the photo. The central star cluster is beautiful. The galaxies sprinkled throughout the background are a great backdrop for NGC 602.
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