This
image shows a star-forming cloud called NGC 346, as seen by NASA's Spitzer
Space Telescope (infrared), the European Southern Observatory's New Technology
Telescope (visible light), and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton space
telescope (X-ray).
NGC
356 represents the brightest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud that
sits 210,000 light-years away. Infrared observations reveal cold dust in red, visible
data highlights glowing gas in green, and X-rays show warm gas in blue. Young
stars appear as red spots with white centers, while regular stars appear as
blue spots with white centers.
The
overall image suggests two different sources of star formation from wind and
radiation. Radiation-based star formation occurs in the center as shock waves from
massive stars compress gas and dust into new stars. Wind-based star formation
takes place higher in the cloud, such as the location of the pinkish blob of
stars at upper left. A massive star to the left of that exploded 50,000 years
ago (white spot with blue halo), but its winds helped create the blob of stars
beforehand.
— NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/ESO/MPIA and SPACE.com
Staff
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ESA/ESO/MPIA
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