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YOUNG STAR CLUSTER CAPTURED BY WEBB TELESCOPE REVEALING EARLY DAYS OF THE UNIVERSE

Published: 2024-11-10 15:49:34 Last Updated: 2024-11-11 07:37:48

The Small Magellanic Cloud is one of the most distant objects visible to the naked eye from the Southern Hemisphere. NGC 602 is a cluster of young stars near the edge of this small galaxy, one of the nearest neighbours of our Milky Way, which could provide some insight into the early universe. This crucial region of the sky was recently photographed by the James Webb Space Telescope, which will aid researchers in their understanding of star formation.
ESA/Webb shared the stunning image, which shows the surrounding gas and dust ridges, the cluster stars, and the young stellar objects. Numerous galaxies and other stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud can be seen in the background.
Using information from Webb's Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) and Near-InfraRed Camera (NIRCam), the image depicts an environment with extremely low abundances of elements heavier than helium and hydrogen. The NGC 602 is rich in ionized gas and contains dark clouds of dense dust, both of which indicate that star formation processes are still active. Astronomers will gain a better understanding of how stars form under conditions distinct from those found close to the Solar System thanks to these.

The candidates for the first young brown dwarfs to be observed outside of our Milky Way are also visible in the image. Larger than the largest known planets but not massive enough to support nuclear fusion like stars, brown dwarfs—also referred to as "failed stars"—are elusive objects. Unlike exoplanets, they are also not gravitationally confined to a star. Astronomer Peter Zeidler said in a statement that brown dwarfs "seem to form in the same way as stars, they just don't capture enough mass to become a fully-fledged star." "This theory is well supported by our results."

The International Space Science Institute's executive director, Antonella Nota, says, "This discovery highlights the power of using both Hubble and Webb to study young stellar clusters." Although Hubble revealed that NGC602 contains very young low-mass stars, Webb is the only instrument that has allowed us to fully understand the scope and importance of the substellar mass formation in this cluster. The combination of Hubble and Webb is an incredible telescope powerhouse!

Article Tags: Viral Universe Star Cluster Space James Webb telescope