Just outside the Milky Way, about 210,000 light-years from Earth, lies the dwarf galaxy known as the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). With a diameter of about 18,900 light-years and about 3 billion stars, the SMC and its counterpart, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), orbit the Milky Way as satellite galaxies. Scientists are particularly interested in these satellite galaxies for what they can teach us about star formation and the process of galaxy evolution through mergers, which is something the Milky Way will do with these two galaxies one day.
Another interesting feature of Little Mountain is the spectacular star cluster known as NGC 346, located near the center of Little Mountain's brightest star-forming region, the hydrogen-rich nebula dubbed N66. Yesterday, NASA published A new image of this star cluster acquired by the venerable Hubble Space Telescopewhich offers a unique and stunning view of this star cluster. These images were made possible by Hubble's high resolution and its unique ability to make sensitive ultraviolet observations.
The interaction between the dozens of young, hot, blue stars and the surrounding dust and gas make this region one of the most dynamic and detailed star-forming clusters ever observed. While NGC 346 has been observed for The Hubble Telescope in the past and more recently by the James Webb Space TelescopeThe images they took combined visible and infrared light, showing the structure of gas and dust in the surrounding nebula. This latest view combined ultraviolet and some visible-light data from Hubble. Advanced camera for surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (CFM3).
The goal of these observations is to learn more about star formation and how it shapes the interstellar medium (ISM) of low-metallicity galaxies like the SMC. These conditions are thought to be similar to those that existed during the early Universe, when there were very few heavy elements. It was not until the first generation of stars (Population III) and galaxies emerged (roughly 100 million to 1 billion years after the Big Bang) that heavier elements began to form. These were distributed throughout space when these stars reached the end of their relatively short life cycle and became supernovae.
After more than three decades of service, the Hubble Space Telescope It continues to fulfill its original purpose: helping scientists investigate the origins and evolution of the Universe!
Further reading: POT
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