Glorious cosmic holiday wreath and Christmas tree wish you a Merry Christmas from the universe

As families around the world celebrate the holiday season, NASA has delivered a celestial gift, showcasing the magic of the universe in a festive light. Two recently released images from NASA’s observatories feature star clusters that resemble traditional holiday symbols – a Christmas tree and a holiday wreath – blending science and festivity in a cosmic celebration.

The holiday wreath of NGC 602

Since 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, 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 with a previously released image from the agency’s James Webb Space Telescope. The dark ring-like outline of the wreath seen in Webb data (represented as orange, yellow, green, and blue) is made up of dense clouds of filled dust. Meanwhile, X-rays from Chandra (red) 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.

A new look at the Christmas tree cluster

In addition to this cosmic wreath, NASA has released a new version of the “Christmas tree cluster.” Like NGC 602, NGC 2264 is 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.) In this image of NGC 2264, which is much closer than NGC 602 at a distance of about 2,500 light-years from Earth, Chandra data (red, purple, blue, and white) has been combined with optical data (green and violet) captured by astrophotographer Michael Clow from his telescope in Arizona in November 2024.

As you celebrate the holidays, these cosmic formations are a vivid reminder of the beauty and wonder of the universe. Whether it’s the ring of stars in the holiday wreath or the iconic shape of the “Christmas tree cluster,” these images inspire a sense of connection to something greater—making the holiday season truly magical.

Merry Christmas everyone!

[via NASA]