APOD: 2024 September 12 - Young Star Cluster NGC 1333

Good morning, Rallypoint, and welcome to the September 12th edition of Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD). Sgt (Join to see) must have asked the APOD editors about posting a recent James Webb photo. NGC 1333 is a reflection nebula located in the northern constellation Perseus, and was first discovered by German astronomer Eduard Schönfeld in 1855. The nebula is ~1,000 light years from Earth and visible as a hazy patch in a small telescope. The Webb isn't a small telescope, so there is a bit more to see. Scientists believe that most of the stars in NGC 1333 are less than one million years old, and suggest that we are looking at a similar environment that our Solar System first emerged from 4-5 billion years ago. Cheers.