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Infrared View of NGC 346 (Hubble)

NGC 346 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula appears as a cloudy blue area that roughly extends from the upper right to the bottom left corner. Within the blue area are many bright, white newborn stars.

Infant stars still embedded in gas and dust in the NGC 346 nebula shine brightly in this Hubble Space Telescope image. Webb’s infrared vision will uncover thousands more developing stars in this star-forming region.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    00h 59m 18s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -72° 10' 48.0"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Tucana
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    210,000 light-years away (64,000 parsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is 4.7 arcminutes (280 light-years or 87 parsecs).

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 10248: A. Nota (STScI/ESA), M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), E. Sabbi (Univ. of Bologna), M. Tosi (INAF - Bologna Observ.), J.S. Gallagher (Univ. of Wisconsin), M. Meixner (STScI), M. Clampin (GSFC), S. Oey (Univ. of Michigan), A. Pasquali (ETH Zurich), L. Smith (Univ. College London), and R. Walterbos (New Mexico State Univ.).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    July 2004
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F555W (V), F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 346
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Star-forming region in the Small Magellanic Cloud
  • Release Date
    December 12, 2018
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Provide Census of Fledgling Stars in Stellar Nursery
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, Antonella Nota (STScI, ESA)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 4600 × 4900
    jpg (21.76 MB)
NGC 346 as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. The nebula appears as a cloudy blue area that roughly extends from the upper right to the bottom left corner. Within the blue area are many bright, white newborn stars.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

Blue: F555W (V) Green: F555W (V) + F814W (I) Red: F814W (I)

Related Images & Videos

A multiwavelength view of NGC 346. The center of the image contains wispy green-yellow material, and arcs of orange and pink gas that form a boat-like shape. Among the center is a large cluster of blue-white stars.

Multiwavelength View of NGC 346 (Spitzer, NTT, XMM-Newton)

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, Antonella Nota (STScI, ESA)

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