NGC 602

---

title: "NGC 602" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["ngc-objects", "open-clusters", "small-magellanic-cloud", "hydrus", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1826", "discoveries-by-james-dunlop"] description: "Open cluster in the constrellation Hydrus" topic_path: "general/ngc-objects" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_602" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Open cluster in the constrellation Hydrus ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox cluster"]

Field	Value
image	Image:NGC602.jpg
caption	A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 602 (north is left). Sk 183 is just above centre, NGC 602a just below and left of centre, and NGC 602b towards the left edge.
Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.
name	NGC 602
epoch	J2000
ra	{{cite simbad
title	NGC 602
access-date	2013-04-04}}
dec
constellation	Hydrus
dist_ly	196 kly{{cite web
title	Hubble Observes Infant Stars in Nearby Galaxy
work	HubbleSite
url	http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/04/fastfacts/
access-date	2007-01-10}}
dist_pc	61 kpc
appmag_v	15.44 (pg)
size_v	2.7'
mass_msol	-
radius_ly	90 ly
age	5 My{{Cite APOD
title	NGC 602 and Beyond
date	10 January 2007
access-date	2007-01-10}}
notes	-
names	N90
::

| image = Image:NGC602.jpg | caption=A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 602 (north is left). Sk 183 is just above centre, NGC 602a just below and left of centre, and NGC 602b towards the left edge. Credit: HST/NASA/ESA. | name = NGC 602 | epoch = J2000 | ra = {{cite simbad | title=NGC 602 | access-date=2013-04-04}} | dec = | constellation = Hydrus | dist_ly = 196 kly{{cite web | title=Hubble Observes Infant Stars in Nearby Galaxy | work=HubbleSite | url=http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2007/04/fastfacts/ | access-date=2007-01-10}} | dist_pc = 61 kpc | appmag_v = 15.44 (pg) | size_v = 2.7' | mass_msol = - | radius_ly = 90 ly | age = 5 My{{Cite APOD | title=NGC 602 and Beyond | date=10 January 2007 | access-date=2007-01-10}} | notes = - | names = N90 NGC 602 is a young, bright open cluster of stars located in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. It was discovered on 1 August 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop. It is embedded in a nebula known as N90.

Radiation and shock waves from the stars of NGC 602 have pushed away much of the lighter surrounding gas and dust that is N90, and this in turn has triggered new star formation in the ridges (or "elephant trunks") of the nebula. These even younger, pre–main sequence stars are still enshrouded in dust but are visible to the Spitzer Space Telescope at infrared wavelengths. The cluster is of particular interest because it is located in the wing of the SMC leading to the Magellanic Bridge. Hence, while its chemical properties should be similar to those of the rest of the galaxy, it is relatively isolated and so easier to study.{{Cite journal| title=Discovery of a Pre-main sequence Population in SMC cluster, NGC 602 with HST/ACS and SST/IRAC | pages=1475, 185.03 | volume=207 | journal=Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society | bibcode=2005AAS...20718503C | last1=Carlson | first1=L. R. | last2=Sirianni | first2=M. | last3=Hora | first3=J. L. | last4=Sabbi | first4=E. | last5=Nota | first5=A.|author5-link=Antonella Nota | last6=Meixner | first6=M. | last7=Clampin | first7=M. | last8=Gallagher | first8=J. | last9=Oey | first9=M. S. | last10=Pasquali | first10=A. | last11=Smith | first11=L. J. | last12=Tosi | first12=M. | last13=Walterbos | first13=R. | date=2005

NGC 602 contains three main condensations of stars. The central core is NGC 602a, with the compact NGC 602b 100 arc-seconds to the NNW. NGC 602c is a looser grouping 11 arc-minutes to the NE, which includes the WO star AB8.

NGC 602 includes many young O and B stars and young stellar objects, with few evolved stars. Ionisation in the nebula is dominated by Sk 183, an extremely hot O3 main sequence star visible as the bright isolated star at the centre of the Hubble image.

A population of candidate brown dwarfs was found in NGC 602 in 2024. This was the first detection of brown dwarfs outside the Milky Way.

A number of other, more distant galaxies also appear in the background of the Hubble Space Telescope images of NGC 602, making for a "tantalizing" and "grand" view.

File:NGC 602 (Webb image) (weic2425c).jpg|NGC 602 by the James Webb Space Telescope, 2024 File:PIA16884 - Taken Under the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud.jpg|Composite x-ray/optical/infrared image File:Region of NGC 602 (Digitized Sky Survey 2).jpg|NGC 602 region of the SMC File:NGC 602c HLA.jpg|NGC 602c closeup

References

References

1. (1961). "A new catalogue of emission-line stars and planetary nebulae in the Small Magellanic Cloud". Astronomical Journal.
2. (1964). "The distribution of stars in the wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud-The region NGC 602". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
3. Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue Objects: NGC{{nbsp}}602".
4. (January 2007). "NGC 602: Ongoing Star Formation in a Young SMC Cluster". Hubble Heritage Project.
5. (1964). "The distribution of stars in the wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud-The region NGC 602". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
6. (2012). "The Clustered Nature of Star Formation. Pre-main-sequence Clusters in the Star-forming Region NGC 602/N90 in the Small Magellanic Cloud". The Astrophysical Journal.
7. (2012). "A Rare Early-type Star Revealed in the Wing of the Small Magellanic Cloud". The Astrophysical Journal.
8. [http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070110.html APOD: 2007 January 10 - NGC 602 and Beyond]
9. (2007-01-09). "New Stars Shed Light On The Past". Science Daily.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::