Located some 3 million light-years away in the arms of nearby spiral
galaxy M33,
giant stellar nursery
NGC 604 is
about 1,300 light-years across
Explanation:
Located some 3 million light-years away in the arms of nearby spiral
galaxy M33,
giant stellar nursery
NGC 604 is
about 1,300 light-years across.
That’s nearly 100 times the size of the Milky Way’s
Orion Nebula, the closest large star forming
region to planet Earth.
In fact, among the star forming regions within the Local Group of
galaxies, NGC 604 is second in size only to 30 Doradus,
also known as
the Tarantula Nebula in the
Large Magellanic Cloud.
Cavernous bubbles and cavities in NGC 604
fill this stunning infrared image from the
James Webb Space Telescope’s NIRCam.
They are carved out by energetic stellar winds
from the region’s
more than 200 hot, massive, young stars, all still in early
stages of their lives.