About 200,000 light-years from Earth is the Small Magellanic Cloud, a relatively tiny galaxy containing several hundred million stars. At its edge is a cluster known as NGC 602, which has an environment similar to that of our universe in its early stages. Thanks to the James Webb Telescope, we’re now able to view this celestial region in stunning detail.
Using combined data from the Near-InfraRed Camera and Mid-InfraRed Instrument, astronomers stitched together an incredibly high-resolution composite that boasts the glimmering edges of a galaxy dense with star formation.
According to researchers, this region has “very low abundances of elements heavier than hydrogen and helium. The existence of dark clouds of dense dust and the fact that the cluster is rich in ionised gas also suggest the presence of ongoing star formation processes.”
The Small Magellanic Cloud is one of the few intergalactic bodies visible to the naked eye and a close neighbor of our home in the Milky Way. These findings offer astonishing insight into how stars burst into life.
As Kottke notes, it’s worth it to zoom in on the image and explore every reach of this stellar nursery.
