Some images make you stop and wonder. As the Hubble Space Telescope marks 35 years in space, one such image of a vibrant star nursery has re-emerged with breathtaking clarity. The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a fresh look at the young star cluster NGC 346, combining old favourites with new data and better processing.
NGC 346 sits inside the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. Located nearly 200,000 light-years away, it lies in the constellation Tucana. The Small Magellanic Cloud has fewer metals than our galaxy. That means conditions there are similar to the early universe.
Hubble's ultraviolet, optical, and infrared perspectives are all combined in the new image. It depicts more than 2,500 new stars developing in this crowded area. Among them are enormous stars that shine a brilliant blue glow and are far heavier than our Sun. Dark dust streaks and brilliant pink clouds create beautiful forms all around them. These are sculpted by the cluster’s strongest stars.
Hubble’s sharp vision helped scientists track star movement. Researchers studied two sets of data taken 11 years apart. They found that many stars are spiralling towards the cluster’s centre. A gas stream from outside fuels star birth there, creating a whirlpool-like effect.
The stars here are shaping their surroundings. Their powerful winds and radiation are carving a bubble into the nearby nebula. That glowing cloud is named N66 and is the brightest H II region in the Small Magellanic Cloud. H II regions glow from the energy of young, hot stars. However, after just a few million years, their brightness fades.
New facets of this story have been made visible by Hubble. Scientists now have a better understanding of how stars form in far-flung regions of the universe because of its long-term mission. And the scene becomes even more breathtaking with each successive glance.
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