A recent snapshot from the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed a breathtaking view of NGC 346, a stellar nursery within the Small Magellanic Cloud. This is the most detailed image yet of the cluster, which features over 2,500 newborn stars visible in infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light.
The data offers clues about how stars form and their influence on surrounding space. The Small Magellanic Cloud has fewer heavy elements than the Milky Way, making it an ideal case study for understanding star formation billions of years ago. According to scientists, this galaxy’s conditions are similar to those in the early universe.
Astronomers have long believed that the first stars were composed primarily of hydrogen and helium, which emerged from the Big Bang. As these stars died and scattered heavier elements, subsequent generations formed with more complex ingredients. The Hubble image shows a glowing pink nebula surrounding the cluster, illuminated by hot young stars.
Snakelike dark clouds of dust indicate the remnants of original star-making material still present in space. Massive stars with intense radiation and stellar winds have cleared empty bubbles around them. Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to survey 10 stars in the same cluster, finding that even at relatively old ages, they retained substantial disks.
This discovery implies that planets have more time to form and grow around these primitive stars, contradicting previous thinking that these disks would be lost quickly.
Source: https://mashable.com/article/nasa-hubble-small-magellanic-cloud-star-cluster