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NGC three four six, a star cluster
that lies within a nebula,

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is located 210,000 light years away.

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It resides within the Small Magellanic Cloud

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a dwarf galaxy close to our Milky Way.

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New findings from NASA's
James Webb Space Telescope reveal

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the presence of a much more intricate
network of gas

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and dust structures
than previously discovered in the area.

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Within this plume of gas is cold
molecular hydrogen, which provides

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a perfect environment for young stars
to form, some of which can be seen here.

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These young stars generate energy
that heats the gas

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energizing
and splitting the molecular hydrogen.

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This effectively carves
rough ridges into the gas.

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This area appears to show the head

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of a dragon spitting out balls of hot gas.

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Its eye and the balls of gas
are areas of active star formation

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which will continue
to change the environment around it.

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These wisps are more evidence
of that environmental change.

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Winds from nearby stars are blowing away
material that surrounds still forming

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stars, leaving these small structures behind.

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Here we see curly ribbons of glowing gas

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that outline the cold molecular 
gas of the region.

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These many pillars of creation show

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how pervasive
the stellar erosion is in the region.

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Eventually, over millions of years,
the mixture of energized and dense

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hydrogen will give way
to thousands of stars and far more of

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these filamentary structures.