Nestled 200,000 light-years away in the Small Magellanic Cloud, the young star cluster NGC 602 lights up the surrounding nebula N90 with its brilliant and energetic stars. Among them is the exceptionally hot O3 star Sk 183, one of the brightest stars fueling this luminous star-forming region. The intense radiation from these massive blue stars carves out cavities in the nebula, shaping swirling regions of ionized gas and dust.

Curiously, a faint, small structure resembling a planetary nebula also appears nearby, possibly identified as SMC-B Bru 2-165. This could hint at earlier stellar generations in this vibrant region, where new stars are born within rich molecular clouds.

Image Description and Details :

NGC 602 or the Flying Lizard Nebula and its neighbors lie near the outskirts of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) some 200,000 light-years away. 204 x 300s SHO subs shot @-10C spread across 5 nights for a total integration time of about 17hrs Equipment used:Skywatcher 10" f4 Newtonian 250PSkywatcher F4 Aplanatic Coma CorrectorSkywatcher NEQ6 Pro Hypertuned by Astronomy Academy PerthZWO ASI2600MM Pro Cooled CameraPrimaluce Sesto Senso2 Electronic FocuserWilliam Optics Uniguide 50/200mm guidescopeZWO ASI290MM Mini Guide CameraZWO Electronic Filter WheelAntlia Pro 36mm unmounted filtersRollon rolloff modified shed observatoryBortle 5Data acquisition software: NINA Astronomy SoftwareProcessing software: PixInsight and Photoshop CC

Copyright: Capturing Ancient Photons