NGC 602及后方的天体

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.

NGC 602及后方的天体
影像提供: X-ray: Chandra: NASA/CXC/Univ.Potsdam/L.Oskinova et al;
Optical: Hubble: NASA/STScI; Infrared: Spitzer: NASA/JPL-Caltech

说明: 在小麦哲伦星系，这个离我们约20万光年远的银河伴星系之边缘，有一个500万年稚龄的年轻星团NGC 602。在这张哈伯望远镜，外加钱德拉望远镜X射线和史匹哲望远镜红外光数据补强的此区域精彩影像里，NGC 602仍然包覆在孕育他们的气体和尘埃里。其中，梦幻般的云脊及后掠的尘埃和云气，显示在NGC 602里，大质量年轻恒星所发出的高能量辐射和激波，已经侵蚀了附近的尘埃，并触发从星云中心渐次向外蔓延的恒星诞生活动。以小麦哲伦星系所在的距离来估计，这幅影像涵盖了大约200光年的区域。此外，这张清晰的多波段彩色望镜影像里，还可隐约见到许多背景星系。这些背景星系的距离，至少要比NGC 602远数亿光年以上。