NASA telescopes capture a cosmic ornament for the holidays.

The recent image released by NASA showcases the star cluster NGC 602 in vibrant colors, highlighting the beauty of the cosmos during the festive season. This cluster, located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, features a massive ring of dust clouds visible in shades of green, yellow, blue, and orange. The green hues and the fuzzy edges of the ring give it the appearance of a crown of evergreen branches, while the subtle red shadows representing X-rays add depth to the image.

The visualization was created using data collected by several space telescopes, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the James Webb Space Telescope, which observe different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The bright red dots seen are young massive stars, emitting large amounts of radiation and captured by Chandra, while Webb contributed the background colors reflecting the presence of warm dust.

Scientists have a particular interest in the Small Magellanic Cloud because its stars show a lower concentration of heavy elements compared to those observed in the Milky Way. Heavy elements are generated within stars and dispersed into the interstellar medium when they explode as supernovae. Therefore, the scarcity of these elements in the Small Magellanic Cloud suggests that it may be a younger galaxy. Studying this structure could provide valuable clues about the evolution of galaxies over time.

As part of the celebration, NASA also released an image of another star group called NGC 2264, known as the "Christmas Tree Cluster." This image showcases flashes of red, purple, blue, and white, with the tree design highlighted by optical data. This cluster is located within our galaxy, just 2,500 light-years away, and hosts a variety of stars of different masses, some exceeding seven times the mass of our sun. The stars represented in the Christmas tree image are young and volatile, emitting bursts of energy that generate X-rays, giving them a twinkling effect.