Stellar Nursery NGC 604 in Triangulum | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

Stellar Nursery NGC 604 in Triangulum | NASA Hubble & Chandra [Budget Alert]

This is a vast nebula called NGC 604. It lies in the neighboring spiral galaxy Messier 33, located 2.7 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. It was discovered by German-born British astronomer and composer William Herschel on September 11, 1784.

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is being canceled in NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request, along with 18 other active science missions. NASA's science budget is being reduced by nearly 50%. NASA's total budget will become the lowest since 1961, after accounting for inflation.

Contact your representatives in the United States Congress, House and Senate, to express your concerns about severe budget cuts at NASA:

https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials/

NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Request (PDF): https://www.nasa.gov/fy-2026-budget-request/

Image Processor Judy Schmidt: "The brightest x-ray object in this scene is an unknown object at the upper left. The next brightest thing seems to be a distant active galaxy nucleus (AGN) coincidentally positioned just above the nebula. In third place comes NGC 604 itself. It is hard to compete with an AGN, but these young stars are doing an admirable job. X-rays are generated when things get super hot, and that's what's happening within the cavernous interior bubble of the nebula."

Image Credit: Hui Yang (University of Illinois) and NASA/European Space Agency (ESA)/Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Processing: Judy Schmidt
Release Date: Jan. 14, 2019

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