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年轻星团ngc346

(原标题: Young Star Cluster NGC 346)

2023-01-13

浏览次数: 15

小麦哲伦星云中质量最大的年轻星团是ngc346,它位于我们的小卫星星系最大的恒星形成区,距离我们大约21万光年。当然,NGC 346的大质量恒星寿命很短,但能量非常大。它们的风和辐射塑造了该地区尘埃分子云的边缘,引发了内部的恒星形成。恒星形成区似乎也包含了大量的婴儿恒星。这些婴儿恒星只有300万到500万年的历史,它们的核心还没有燃烧氢,它们散布在嵌入的星团中。这张NGC 346的壮观红外照片来自詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜的NIRcam。被大质量恒星的高能辐射电离的氢原子以及形成恒星的分子云中的氢分子和尘埃发出的辐射以粉红色和橙色详细显示。韦伯拍摄的年轻恒星形成区域的清晰图像跨越了小麦哲伦星云240光年的距离。

查看原文解释

The most massive young star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud is NGC 346, embedded in our small satellite galaxy's largest star forming region some 210,000 light-years distant. Of course the massive stars of NGC 346 are short lived, but very energetic. Their winds and radiation sculpt the edges of the region's dusty molecular cloud triggering star-formation within. The star forming region also appears to contain a large population of infant stars. A mere 3 to 5 million years old and not yet burning hydrogen in their cores, the infant stars are strewn about the embedded star cluster. This spectacular infrared view of NGC 346 is from the James Webb Space Telescope's NIRcam. Emission from atomic hydrogen ionized by the massive stars' energetic radiation as well as molecular hydrogen and dust in the star-forming molecular cloud is detailed in pink and orange hues. Webb's sharp image of the young star-forming region spans 240 light-years at the distance of the Small Magellanic Cloud.

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