                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2026 April 13
   A starfield surrounds a large light-brown nebula that has several dust
    pillars. In the center of the nebula are many bright blue stars. Some
   distant galaxies are visible through and around the nebula. Please see
               the explanation for more detailed information.

                             NGC 602 and Beyond
    Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) -
                          ESA/Hubble Collaboration

   Explanation: The clouds may look like an oyster, and the stars like
   pearls, but look beyond. Near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic
   Cloud, a satellite galaxy some 200 thousand light-years distant, lies 5
   million year young star cluster NGC 602. Surrounded by natal gas and
   dust, NGC 602 is featured in this stunning Hubble image of the region.
   Fantastic ridges and swept back shapes strongly suggest that energetic
   radiation and shock waves from NGC 602's massive young stars have
   eroded the dusty material and triggered a progression of star formation
   moving away from the cluster's center. At the estimated distance of the
   Small Magellanic Cloud, the featured picture spans about 200
   light-years, but a tantalizing assortment of background galaxies are
   also visible in this sharp multi-colored view. The background galaxies
   are hundreds of millions of light-years or more beyond NGC 602.

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                                    1995)
                       Tomorrow's picture: open space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

