Chandra Release - May 02, 2018

Visual Description: NGC 6231

The image features a cluster of stars called NGC 6231, which includes a two-panel of X-ray (right) and infrared (left) views. The dominant colors in the image are pink and purple, with some navy blue hues visible in the background. The left infrared view offers a wide field view of a larger chunk of sky and is dotted with objects like stars and dust. The structure of NGC 6231 in X-ray light on the right can be described as a collection of brightly glowing, point sources arranged in a clumpy pattern. It resembles a dense pile of sparkling pink and purple gemstones. This Chandra X-ray Observatory image of NGC 6231 is color coded by energy where red, green, and blue represents the lower, medium, and high-energy X-rays. The brightest X-ray emission is white. The Chandra data has helped provide the best census of young stars in NGC 6231. The infrared image on the left is from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.