It’s a cosmic Christmas! NASA just released new images of a nearby star cluster that resembles a wreath and another that looks like a Christmas tree.
The wreath-like cluster is actually named “NGC 602” and it lies on the outskirts of one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way called Small Magellanic Cloud. NASA said it’s located about 200,000 light years from Earth.
This new image is a result of combined data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope.
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The group of stars known as the “Christmas tree cluster” is formally named “NGC 2264” Like the wreath formation, NASA said this cluster is made up of young stars between one and five million years old.
NASA said, for comparison, the Sun is a middle-aged star about five billion years old.
The new Christmas tree cluster image combines Chandra data with optical data from astrophotographer Michael Clow and his telescope in Arizona, NASA said.
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