About the Object

Name: NGC 602
Distance: 200000 light years
Constellation: Hydrus
Category: MIRI
NIRCam
Stars

Coordinates

Position (RA):1 29 23.60
Position (Dec):-73° 33' 39.58"
Field of view:4.43 x 2.90 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 8.7° right of vertical



Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Infrared 1.15 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared 1.4 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared 1.5 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared
methane
2.1 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared 2.77 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared
PAH
3.35 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared 3.56 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared 4.8 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
NIRCam
Infrared
Silicate
10 μmJames Webb Space Telescope
MIRI

NGC 602 (NIRCam and MIRI image)

Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy roughly 200 000 light-years from Earth, lies the young star cluster NGC 602, which is featured in this new image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. This image includes data from Webb’s NIRCam (Near-InfraRed Camera) and MIRI (Mid-InfraRed Instrument).

The local environment of this cluster is a close analogue of what existed in the early Universe, with 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. This cluster provides a valuable opportunity to examine star formation scenarios under dramatically different conditions from those in the solar neighbourhood.

An international team of astronomers, including Peter Zeidler, Elena Sabbi, and Antonella Nota, used Webb to observe NGC 602 and detected candidates for the first young brown dwarfs outside our Milky Way. 

[Image description: A star cluster is shown inside a large nebula of many-coloured gas and dust. The material forms dark ridges and peaks of gas and dust surrounding the cluster, lit on the inner side, while layers of diffuse, translucent clouds blanket over them. Around and within the gas, a huge number of distant galaxies can be seen, some quite large, as well as a few stars nearer to us which are very large and bright.]

Credit:

ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeidler, E. Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

About the Image

Id: weic2425a
Type: Observation
Release date: 23 October 2024, 17:00
Related releases: weic2425
Size: 8588 x 5617 px


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