Starship Asterisk*

NGC 602 and Beyond

Explanation: 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 picture spans about 200 light-years, but a tantalizing assortment of background galaxies are also visible in the sharp Hubble view. The background galaxies are hundreds of millions of light-years or more beyond NGC 602.

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This one has practically everything!
Stellar Clusters
Edge on Spirals
Face on Spirals
numerous unresolved galaxies
At least 20 Elypticals
over 175 background galaxies
Even a probable merger
and a likely lensing (upper right edge of the largest elyptical)
visible in this High Res image (19 meg file)
And lets not forget that wonderous nebula dominating the image

If it wasn't headed NGC602, I'd have thought I was looking at the Pleiedes!! Have others noticed the formation similarity of the cluster?
Many thanks to all the team who presents us with these interesting pictures of the Cosmos!!!

A little over halfway up the shot on the right side, at the edge of the dust cloud, is a foreground star. Just below and to the right of it is a smallish, irregular group of orange dots. Does anyone know what they might be?

BMAONE23 wrote:This one has practically everything!

You said it!! Gorgeous shot!

• Release the Kraken.

I'm looking at this and listening to Creation Du Monde by Vangelis. It's quite an experience.

I listened to "Feed Me," sung by Audrey II.

Dust cloud looks like the man in the moon . Spitting

Awesome image. Makes me think about the wonders that are out there waiting one day to be visited by humankind (or who/what ever we evolve into). It's a rare night though where I am if I can make out anything more than the brightest stars!

DavidLeodis wrote:Makes me think about the wonders that are out there waiting one day to be visited by humankind (or who/what ever we evolve into).

Nice one neufer. So we are not going to evolve into a floating blob of brain energy as foreseen in Star Trek (my source of all that will be).

What an awesome shot, my soul tends to wander into those realms wher only our dreams can reach in this moment, maybe one day, someone from this planet will have the honor to travel through those clouds and will say like we do today what an awesome creation.

It is indeed a marvelous shot, but ...I can't believe that this body hasn't yet been named the Pac-Man Nebula.

nemo wrote:It is indeed a marvelous shot, but ...I can't believe that this body hasn't yet been named the Pac-Man Nebula.

Because that name was already taken.

I think the Audrey II Nebula would be a dandy name.

Kinda reminds me of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors !!!

Wow!! i found an Apod picture that i am a part of, but at the time the computer was'nt letting me be me and i missed it.

I look pretty good in there - don't I