NASA has released two festive images of star clusters, just in time for the holiday season. The first image shows NGC 2264, nicknamed the “Christmas Tree Cluster,” with young stars and swirling gas clouds colored green. This cluster is located within the Milky Way galaxy, 2,500 light-years from Earth.
The second image features NGC 602, a star cluster on the edge of the Small Magellanic Cloud, resembling a wreath illuminated by Christmas lights. However, upon closer inspection, those “lights” are revealed to be entire galaxies beyond the star cluster.
To create these images, NASA combined data from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope. The result is a visually stunning representation of the stars and gas clouds in the two clusters.
These festive images showcase the beauty of astronomy and highlight the incredible work being done by scientists like astrophotographer Michael Clow and NASA’s experts.
Source: https://www.space.com/the-universe/the-christmas-tree-cluster-gets-a-festive-makeover-photos