NGC 602及后方的天体
NGC 602 and Beyond
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) – ESA/Hubble Collaboration
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.
Tomorrow’s picture: edgy galaxy
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NGC 602及后方的天体
影像提供: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) – ESA/Hubble Collaboration
说明: 这团星云形似牡蛎，恒星则像珍珠，而它们的后方还有其他天体。在离我们约20万光年远的伴星系─小麦哲伦星系之边缘，有一个500万年稚龄的年轻星团NGC 602。在这张由哈伯望远镜拍摄的精采影像里，NGC 602仍然包覆在孕育他们的气体和尘埃之内。影像中，如梦似幻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震波，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，这幅主题影像涵盖了大约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。
明日的图片: edgy galaxy
