NGC 346. Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) image of the young star cluster NGC 346. This image highlights a heart-shaped cloud of gas at a temperature o

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NGC 346. Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO) image of the young star cluster NGC 346. This image highlights a heart-shaped cloud of gas at a temperature of 8 million degrees Celsius in the central region. This cloud, which is about 100 light years across, is the remnant of a supernova explosion that occurred thousands of years ago. A massive young star (pink dot) is the bright X-ray source at upper centre. This young star, HD 5980, is one of the most massive known. This star cluster is 180,000 light years distant in the constellation of Tucana. These observations were made in 2001 and published in 2003.

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Size: 3476px × 2510px
Photo credit: © NASA/CXC/U.Liege/Y.Naze et al/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: -, -ray, 346, 2001, 2003, 5980, acis, advanced, astronomical, astronomy, astrophysical, astrophysics, ccd, chandra, cluster, cxo, energy, glowing, hd, heart, heart-shaped, high, imaging, nebula, ngc, observatory, remnant, shaped, snr, source, space, spectrometer, star, supernova, telescope, tucana, universe, xray