Extragalactic Open Star Clusters NGC 460 & NGC 456 in Tucana | Webb+Hubble

Extragalactic Open Star Clusters NGC 460 & NGC 456 in Tucana | Webb+Hubble

A vast network of stars, gas, and dust is strung among a duo of star clusters in this combined image from NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes. Open star clusters NGC 460 and NGC 456 reside in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. This highly detailed 527 megapixel mosaic consists of 12 overlapping observations and includes visible and infrared wavelengths. Bluish clouds of gas are wound through with red-glowing lanes and filaments of dust. The clouds contain cavities filled with stars and many more stars are visible in the background and scattered throughout the clouds. Tiny background galaxies are also sprinkled throughout the image.

On the left is a Hubble image of NGC 460, a round, bubble-shaped bluish cloud of gas and dust. On the right is a Webb telescope image of NGC 460, showing a cavern-like outline of red filaments of dust. Both are studded with stars.

A riotous expanse of gas, dust, and stars stake out the dazzling territory of a duo of star clusters in these images from NASA’s Hubble and Webb space telescopes.

Open clusters NGC 460 and NGC 456 reside in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a dwarf galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. Open clusters consist of anywhere from a few dozen to a few thousand young stars loosely bound together by gravity. These particular clusters are part of an extensive complex of star clusters and nebulae that are likely linked to one another. As clouds of gas collapse, stars are born. These young, hot stars expel intense stellar winds that shape the nebulae around them, carving out the clouds and triggering other collapses, which in turn give rise to more stars.

The nodules visible in these images are scenes of active star formation, with stars ranging from just one to 10 million years old. In contrast, our Sun is 4.5 billion years old. The region that holds these clusters, known as the N83-84-85 complex, is home to multiple, rare O-type stars, hot and extremely massive stars that burn hydrogen like our Sun. Astronomers estimate there are only around 20,000 O-type stars among the approximately 400 billion stars in the Milky Way.

The Small Magellanic Cloud is of great interest to researchers because it is less enriched in metals than the Milky Way. Astronomers call all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium—that is, with more than two protons in the atom's nucleus—"metals." This state mimics conditions in the early universe, so the Small Magellanic Cloud provides a relatively nearby laboratory to explore theories about star formation and the interstellar medium at early stages of cosmic history. With these observations of NGC 460 and NGC 456, researchers intend to study how gas flows in the region converge or divide; refine the collision history between the Small Magellanic Cloud and its fellow dwarf galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud; examine how bursts of star formation occur in such gravitational interactions between galaxies; and better understand the interstellar medium.

Image Credit: NASA, European Space Agency, and C. Lindberg (The Johns Hopkins University)

Image Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
Release Date: July 7, 2025

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