                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 September 12

                         Young Star Cluster NGC 1333
    Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, A. Scholz, K. Muzic, A. Langeveld,
                               R. Jayawardhana

   Explanation: This spectacular mosaic of images from the James Webb
   Space Telescope peers into the heart of young star cluster NGC 1333. A
   mere 1,000 light-years distant toward the heroic constellation Perseus,
   the nearby star cluster lies at the edge of the large Perseus molecular
   cloud. Part of Webb's deep exploration of the region to identify low
   mass brown dwarf stars and free floating planets, the space telescope's
   combined field of view spans nearly 2 light-years across the dusty
   cluster's turbulent stellar nursery. In fact, NGC 1333 is known to
   harbor stars less than a million years old, though most are hidden from
   optical telescopes by the pervasive stardust. The chaotic environment
   may be similar to one in which our own Sun formed over 4.5 billion
   years ago.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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