To celebrate Hubble’s 35th anniversary, ESA/Hubble released a breathtaking new image of the star-forming region NGC 346 in the Small Magellanic Cloud.
This cosmic nursery, packed with thousands of newborn stars, is reimagined using cutting-edge techniques and data spanning infrared to ultraviolet light. The image reveals dynamic details like spiraling star movements and fierce stellar winds shaping the surrounding nebula, offering a vivid window into conditions like those of the early Universe.
Celebrating Hubble’s 35th Anniversary
To mark the upcoming 35th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, ESA/Hubble is launching the celebrations with a striking new image of the star cluster NGC 346. This active star-forming region, often called a “star factory,” is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, one of the Milky Way’s largest satellite galaxies.
As part of the anniversary celebration, ESA/Hubble is releasing a special image series that revisits some of Hubble’s most iconic targets. These updated images combine newly processed data with advanced techniques to bring fresh clarity and depth to familiar cosmic scenes.
The latest image of NGC 346 reveals the young star cluster in exceptional detail. While Hubble has captured this region before, this version is the first to merge observations taken in infrared, optical, and ultraviolet light — creating the most comprehensive and vibrant view of this dynamic stellar nursery to date.
A Glimpse Into the Early Universe
NGC 346 is located in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way that lies 200,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana. The Small Magellanic Cloud is less rich in elements heavier than helium — what astronomers call metals — than the Milky Way. This makes conditions in the galaxy similar to what existed in the early Universe.
NGC 346 is home to more than 2500 newborn stars. The cluster’s most massive stars, which are many times more massive than our Sun, blaze with an intense blue light in this image. The glowing pink nebula and snakelike dark clouds are the remnant of the birthsite of the stars in the cluster.
This video takes the viewer on a journey through space to NGC 346, a dazzling young star cluster in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Small Magellanic Cloud is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, located 200,000 light-years away in the constellation Tucana. The Small Magellanic Cloud is less rich in elements heavier than helium — what astronomers call metals — than the Milky Way. This makes conditions in the galaxy similar to what existed in the early Universe.
Spiraling Secrets of Star Formation
Hubble’s exquisite sensitivity and resolution were instrumental in uncovering the secrets of NGC 346’s star formation. Using two sets of observations taken 11 years apart, researchers traced the motions of NGC 346’s stars, revealing them to be spiraling in toward the center of the cluster. This spiraling motion arises from a stream of gas from the outside of the cluster that fuels star formation in the center of the turbulent cloud.
The inhabitants of this cluster are stellar sculptors, carving out a bubble from the nebula. NGC 346’s hot, massive stars produce intense radiation and fierce stellar winds that pummel the billowing gas of their birthplace and begin to disperse the surrounding nebula.
Glowing Gas and Cosmic Clues
The nebula, named N66, is the brightest example of an H II (pronounced ‘H-two’) region in the Small Magellanic Cloud. H II regions are set aglow by ultraviolet light from hot young stars like those in NGC 346. The presence of the brilliant nebula indicates the young age of the star cluster, as an H II region shines only as long as the stars that power it — a mere few million years for the massive stars pictured here.
This image was developed from multiple Hubble observing program: #10248 (PI: Antonella Nota), #12940 (PI: Phillip Massey), #13680 (PI: Elena Sabbi), #15891 (PI: Claire Murray), and #17118 (PI: Claire Murray).
The Hubble Space Telescope is one of the most important and long-lasting observatories in the history of astronomy. Launched in 1990, it has been operating for over three decades and continues to make groundbreaking discoveries that deepen our understanding of the universe—from revealing distant galaxies to uncovering the life cycles of stars. Hubble is a joint project between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), reflecting a longstanding international partnership. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland manages the telescope and its mission operations, with additional support from Lockheed Martin Space in Denver. Scientific operations are conducted by the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy.
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