As far as we know, Earth is the only planet with holiday celebrations. That doesn’t stop the rest of the universe from getting in on the party. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope teamed up for a radiant view of a “cosmic wreath.” The wreath is actually a star cluster known as NGC 602. It’s the perfect way to bring some space science into the holidays.
The Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope contributed data to this composite view of wreathlike star cluster NGC 602.
The Chandra team drew a connection between the history of wreaths and what’s happening in the star cluster.
“Since antiquity, wreaths have symbolized the cycle of life, death and rebirth,” NASA said in a statement on Dec. 17. “It is fitting, then, that one of the best places for astronomers to learn more about the stellar life cycle resembles a giant holiday wreath itself.”
Chandra contributed X-ray data (in red) to the composite image while Webb, NASA’s newest flagship space telescope, contributed infrared data (seen in orange, yellow, green and blue). NGC 602 is packed with young stars. The cloudy-looking areas are full of dust. Webb’s data highlights those dust clouds while Chandra illuminates activity around the stars.
“These X-rays are powered by winds flowing from the young, massive stars that are sprinkled throughout the cluster,” the Chandra team said.
NGC 602 is found on the edges of the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy. At about 200,000 light years from Earth, it’s one of the closest galaxies to our own Milky Way. That means the “wreath” is pretty much a cosmic neighbor of ours.
NASA also shared a view of the “Christmas tree cluster,” another celestial region full of young stars. Those stars are pretty much toddlers, at between 1 million and 5 million years old. Our sun is around 5 billion years old.
The “Christmas tree cluster” looks like a decorated tree. This image combines X-ray and optical views.
The Christmas tree cluster gets its nickname from its resemblance to a conical pine tree decorated with shining stars. Its official name is NGC 2264. Chandra X-ray data appears in red, purple, blue and white. The green and violet bits of the composite image come from astrophotographer Michael Clow, who captured the cluster through a telescope in November. The cluster is located even closer to Earth than NGC 602; it’s just 2,500 light-years away.
Humanity loves to look outward from our little planet. We can deck the halls here on Earth and make room for some dazzling decorative contributions from the cosmos.
