NGC 346 is the brightest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy about 210,000 light-years away from Earth. The light, stellar wind, and heat given off by massive stars have spread the glowing gas within and around this star cluster, forming the surrounding wispy, cowbell-like structure of the nebula.
Image Credit: NASA
This image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope shows a population of infant stars in the Milky Way satellite galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud located 210,000 light-years away. Some of the stars in the nebula NGC 346 that are still forming from gravitationally collapsing gas clouds, and they have not yet ignited their hydrogen fuel to sustain nuclear fusion. The smallest of these infant stars is only half the mass of the Sun.
Image Credit: NASA
NGC 346 is the brightest star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud galaxy about 210,000 light-years away from Earth. The light, stellar wind, and heat given off by massive stars have spread the glowing gas within and around this star cluster, forming the surrounding wispy, cowbell-like structure of the nebula.
Image Credit: NASA
