Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Clow, M.; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand

NGC 602 is a star cluster that lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. This image combines X-rays from Chandra (red) and infrared data from James Webb (JWST). The dark ring-like structure in the JWST data (orange, yellow, green and blue) is made up of dense clouds of dust. Chandra's X-rays show young, massive stars that are illuminating the dust clouds, sending high-energy light into interstellar space. These X-rays are powered by winds flowing from the young, massive stars that are sprinkled throughout the cluster.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2024/ngc602/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html