韦伯影像: NGC 602里的恒星与云气柱

2024年10月29日

NGC 602: Stars Versus Pillars from Webb
Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeidler, E. Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Explanation: The stars are destroying the pillars. More specifically, some of the newly formed stars in the image center are emitting light so energetic that is evaporating the gas and dust in the surrounding pillars. Simultaneously, the pillars themselves are still trying to form new stars. The whole setting is the star cluster NGC 602, and this new vista was taken by the Webb Space Telescope in multiple infrared colors. In comparison, a roll-over image shows the same star cluster in visible light, taken previously by the Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 602 is located near the perimeter of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a small satellite galaxy of our Milky Way galaxy. At the estimated distance of the SMC, the featured picture spans about 200 light-years. A tantalizing assortment of background galaxies are also visible — mostly around the edges — that are at least hundreds of millions of light-years beyond.

Tomorrow’s picture: head space

韦伯影像: NGC 602里的恒星与云气柱
影像提供: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeidler, E. Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

说明: 这些恒星正在摧毁云气柱。更具体的说，影像中心的新诞生恒星发出高能量的星光，不停的蒸发周围云气柱的气体和尘埃。在此同时，云气柱仍在努力形成新恒星。而这一切的活动，都发生在星团NGC 602里，如这幅由韦伯太空望远镜拍摄的多重红外光波段新影像所示。作为比较之用的轮换影像，则是先前哈勃太空望远镜在可见光波段拍摄的星团NGC 602。NGC 602位在小麦哲伦星系（SMC）的边缘，而此星系是我们银河系的小型伴星系。依据SMC的估计距离来换算，此影像的跨幅约为200光年。在这影像的边缘附近，还可见到各式各样、距离至少有数亿光年远的迷人背景星系。