Posted on Jan 13, 2023

APOD: 2023 January 13 - Young Star Cluster NGC 346

Maj William W. 'Bill' Price

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Good Red Friday evening, Rallypoint, and welcome to the January 13th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): "Young Star Cluster NGC 346." The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) continues to amaze. Astronomers probed this region of the Small Magellanic Cloud because the conditions and amount of metals (elements heavier than hydrogen or helium) near NGC 346 resemble those seen in galaxies billions of years ago. Yet it turns out that the stars in NGC 346 are relatively young. Data from the JWST suggest that the stars in NGC 346 are only 3-5 million years old.

As stars form, they gather gas and dust from the surrounding molecular cloud. The material collects into accretion disks that feed their central protostars. Near-infrared observations from the JWST mark the first time metals have been detected in these disks. What could that mean? We are seeing the building blocks of planets. At an evolutionary age much younger than previously expected. Fun stuff.

APOD: 2023 January 13 - Young Star Cluster NGC 346

Posted from apod.nasa.gov

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Posted 2 y ago

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SFC David Reid, M.S, PHR, SHRM-CP, DTM

Posted 2 y ago

This is some
sight to see!

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LTC Stephen F.

Edited 2 y ago

Posted 2 y ago

Simply Red - Stars (Official Video)

The second single to be taken from 1991's Stars album and one of the most memorable hits of the 90s. A live favourite and one of the songs that helped Stars ...

Thank you my space-exploration advocate friend and brother-in-Christ Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the Friday, January 13, 2023 Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD): Young Star Cluster NGC 346

Image: Young Star Cluster NGC 346; Image Credit: Science - NASA, ESA, CSA, Olivia C. Jones (UK ATC), Guido De Marchi (ESTEC), Margaret Meixner (USRA); Processing - Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Nolan Habel (USRA), Laura Lenkić (USRA), Laurie E. U. Chu (NASA Ames)

APOD "Explanation: 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.

Simply Red - Stars -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izOdvBmTDh0

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