Explanation:
Star cluster NGC 346 is embedded in
the largest star forming region in the
Small Magellanic Cloud,
some 210,000 light-years distant.
The massive stars of NGC 346
are short lived, but very
energetic.
Their winds and radiation sweep out an interstellar
cavern in the gas and dust cloud about 200 light-years across,
triggering star formation and sculpting
the region's dense inner edge.
Cataloged as N66, 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.
In the false-color
Hubble Space Telescope image,
visible and near-infrared light are seen as blue and green,
while light from atomic
hydrogen emission is red.
