Christmas Tree Cluster (NGC 2264) with Blinking X-rays
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Clow, M.; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and K. Arcand; Video: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart)
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The “Christmas tree cluster,” or NGC 2264, shows a cluster of young stars between one and five million years old. (For comparison, the Sun is a middle-aged star about 5 billion years old — about 1,000 times older.) The video of NGC 2264, which is much closer than NGC 602 at a distance of about 2,500 light-years from Earth, shows optical data captured by astrophotographer Michael Clow from his telescope in Arizona in November 2024, with the Chandra X-ray data blinking on and off.

Tour: NASA Missions Spot Cosmic 'Wreath' Displaying Stellar Circle of Life
(Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart)
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With closed-captions (at YouTube)

Most stars form in collections or groups, called clusters or associations, that include very massive stars. These giant stars send out large amoSince antiquity, wreaths have symbolized the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. It is fitting then that one of the best places for astronomers to learn more about the stellar lifecycle resembles a giant holiday wreath itself.

The star cluster NGC 602 lies on the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud, which is one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way about 200,000 light-years from Earth. The stars in NGC 602 have fewer heavier elements compared to the Sun and most of the rest of the Galaxy. Instead, the conditions within NGC 602 mimic those for stars found billions of years ago when the Universe was much younger.

This new image combines data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and James Webb Space Telescope. The dark ring-like outline of the wreath seen in JWST data is made up of dense clouds of filled dust.

Meanwhile, X-rays from Chandra show young, massive stars that are illuminating the wreath, sending high-energy light into interstellar space. These X-rays are powered by winds flowing from the young, massive stars that are sprinkled throughout the cluster. The extended cloud in the Chandra data likely comes from the overlapping X-ray glow of thousands of young, low-mass stars in the cluster.

Quick Look: NASA Missions Spot Cosmic 'Wreath' Displaying Stellar Circle of Life
(Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart)
[Runtime: 00:45]

With narration (video above with voiceover)

A new cosmic wreath is being released for the holiday season.

NGC 602 is a star cluster in one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way.

X-rays from Chandra show massive young stars illuminating dark clouds of dust.

Combined with James Webb, these data reveal more about the lifecycle of stars.