Gum 15

This richly detailed new view from the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile shows the star formation region Gum 15. This little-known object is located in the constellation of Vela (The Sails), some 3000 light-years from Earth. The glowing cloud is a stunning example of an HII region. It also has a similarity to a more famous HII region, the Trifid Nebula (Messier 20).

Image credit: ESO

Note: For more information, see A Stellar Womb Shaped and Destroyed by its Ungrateful Offspring.

NGC 1579

Unlike the venomous fictional plants that share its name, the Trifid of the North, otherwise known as the Northern Trifid or NGC 1579, poses no threat to your vision. The nebula’s moniker is inspired by the better-known Messier 20, the Trifid Nebula, which lies very much further south in the sky and displays strikingly similar swirling clouds of gas and dust.

The Trifid of the North is a large, dusty region that is currently forming new stars. These stars are very hot and therefore appear to be very blue. During their short lives they radiate strongly into the gas surrounding them, causing it to glow brightly. Many regions like the Trifid of the North — named H II regions — are clumpy and strangely shaped due to the powerful winds emanating from the stars within them. H II regions also have relatively short lives, furiously forming baby stars until the immense winds from these bodies blow the gas and dust away, leaving just stars behind.

The image above, captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the bright body of the nebula, with dark dust lanes snaking across the frame. The Trifid of the North glows strongly due to the many stars within it, like young binary EM* LkHA 101. Visible to the bottom right of the image, this binary is thought to be surrounded by a hundred or so fainter and less massive stars, making up a recently formed cluster. It lies behind a cloud of dust so thick that it is almost invisible to astronomers at optical wavelengths. Infrared imaging has now penetrated this dusty veil and is uncovering the secrets of this binary star, which is about five thousand times brighter than our own Sun.

Photo credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA; Acknowledgement: Bruno Conti

Vela-C Molecular Cloud in Optical and Far-Infrared

This image shows the Vela-C molecular cloud region as observed at optical (upper panel) and far-infrared (lower panel) wavelengths.

The optical image is dominated by the emission from stars. The eerie orange cloud in the center-left part of the image is known as RCW 36 (or Gum 20); it is an HII region – a pocket of gas that is being energized and ionized by the action of nearby young, massive stars. Another HII region, called RCW 34 (or Gum 19), can be seen as a small orange fleck in the lower part of the image to the right.

In the far-infrared image, obtained using ESA's Herschel Space Observatory, the reservoir of gas and dust that pervades the Vela-C region is revealed in its full glory. Cosmic dust is a minor but crucial component of the interstellar medium and, due to its low temperature, it shines brightly at the far-infrared wavelengths that Herschel is designed to observe. The image shows how the raw material from which stars form is organized in tangled nests as well as dense, ridge-like filaments. The white flecks that dot the clouds and filaments are the seeds of future stellar generations.

The two HII regions RCW 36 and RCW 34 stand out also in the far-infrared image. Due to their higher temperature relative to the colder material in the cloud, they shine brightly at the shortest wavelengths probed by Herschel, indicated in blue in the image.

The Vela-C molecular cloud is the most massive component of the Vela Molecular Ridge, a vast and prolific star-forming complex in the plane of our Galaxy, the Milky Way.

Photo credits: ESO/Digitized Sky Survey 2 (upper panel); ESA/PACS/SPIRE/Tracey Hill & Frédérique Motte, Laboratoire AIM Paris-Saclay, CEA/Irfu - CNRS/INSU - Univ. Paris Diderot, France (lower panel)

Note: For more information, see Tangled Nests and Filaments: Stellar Nurseries in Vela-C.

30 Doradus in Infrared and X-Rays

The star-forming region, 30 Doradus, is one of the largest located close to the Milky Way and is found in the neighboring galaxy Large Magellanic Cloud. About 2,400 massive stars in the center of 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula, are producing intense radiation and powerful winds as they blow off material.

Multi-million-degree gas detected in X-rays (blue) by the Chandra X-ray Observatory comes from shock fronts -- similar to sonic booms -- formed by these stellar winds and by supernova explosions. This hot gas carves out gigantic bubbles in the surrounding cooler gas and dust shown here in infrared emission from the Spitzer Space Telescope (orange).

30 Doradus is also known as an HII (pronounced "H-two") region, created when the radiation from hot, young stars strips away the electrons from neutral hydrogen atoms (HI) to form clouds of ionized hydrogen (HII). It is the most massive and largest HII region in the Local Group of galaxies, which contains the Milky Way, Andromeda and about 30 other smaller galaxies including the two Magellanic Clouds. Because of its proximity and size, 30 Doradus is an excellent target for studying the effects of massive stars on the evolution of an HII region.

The Tarantula Nebula is expanding, and researchers have recently published two studies that attempt to determine what drives this growth. The most recent study concluded that the evolution and the large-scale structure of 30 Doradus is determined by the bubbles of hot, X-ray bright gas confined by surrounding gas, and that pressure from radiation generated by massive stars does not currently play an important role in shaping the overall structure. A study published earlier in 2011 came to the opposite conclusion and argued that radiation pressure is more important than pressure from hot gas in driving the evolution of 30 Doradus, especially in the central regions near the massive stars. More detailed analysis and deeper Chandra observations of 30 Doradus may help decide between these different ideas.

Photo credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/PSU/L. Townsley et al.; Infrared: NASA/JPL/PSU/L. Townsley et al.

NGC 371 - The Rose-Red Glow of Star Formation

The vivid red cloud in this new image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope is a region of glowing hydrogen surrounding the star cluster NGC 371. This stellar nursery lies in our neighboring galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud.

The object dominating this image may resemble a pool of spilled blood, but rather than being associated with death, such regions of ionized hydrogen — known as HII regions — are sites of creation with high rates of recent star birth. NGC 371 is an example of this; it is an open cluster surrounded by a nebula. The stars in open clusters all originate from the same diffuse HII region, and over time the majority of the hydrogen is used up by star formation, leaving behind a shell of hydrogen such as the one in this image, along with a cluster of hot young stars.

The host galaxy to NGC 371, the Small Magellanic Cloud, is a dwarf galaxy a mere 200,000 light-years away, which makes it one of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way. In addition, the Small Magellanic Cloud contains stars at all stages of their evolution; from the highly luminous young stars found in NGC 371 to supernova remnants of dead stars. These energetic youngsters emit copious amounts of ultraviolet radiation causing surrounding gas, such as leftover hydrogen from their parent nebula, to light up with a colorful glow that extends for hundreds of light-years in every direction. The phenomenon is depicted beautifully in this image, taken using the FORS1 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT).

Open clusters are by no means rare; there are numerous fine examples in our own Milky Way. However, NGC 371 is of particular interest due to the unexpectedly large number of variable stars it contains. These are stars that change in brightness over time. A particularly interesting type of variable star, known as slowly pulsating B stars, can also be used to study the interior of stars through asteroseismology [1], and several of these have been confirmed in this cluster. Variable stars play a pivotal role in astronomy: some types are invaluable for determining distances to far-off galaxies and the age of the Universe.

Notes

[1] Asteroseismology is the study of the internal structure of pulsating stars by looking at the different frequencies at which they oscillate. This is a similar approach to the study of the structure of the Earth by looking at earthquakes and how their oscillations travel through the interior of the planet.

Photo credit: ESO/Manu Mejias

IC 5146 - Cocoon Nebula

This color-composite image of IC 5146 shows the extended filamentary structure of this star-forming cloud. A detailed study of this complex has shown a total of 27 filaments that all appear to have very similar widths, with a value of about 0.3 light years.

Over 350 compact starless cores have been detected embedded in the filaments in this region: about 45 of these are gravitationally bound, pre-stellar core candidates, the seeds of future stars. All pre-stellar cores are located in the densest, unstable filaments of the cloud - mostly along the main filamentary streamer visible in the central part of the image.

The glowing cavity on the left side of the image, also known as the Cocoon Nebula, is an HII region, where a young and bright B0 star illuminates the ionized hydrogen gas, causing it to shine. Some young stellar objects are visible as bright spots along the main filaments; many other young stellar objects are located in the Cocoon Nebula but are not visible in this image.

Located at a distance of about 1500 light years, the IC 5146 complex belongs to the Gould Belt, a giant ring of stars and star-forming clouds in the vicinity of the Sun.

This image is based on observations performed by SPIRE at 500 and 250 μm and by PACS at 70 μm. These observations of IC 5146 are part of an extensive survey of the Gould Belt currently undertaken with Herschel.

Photo credit: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE/PACS/D. Arzoumanian (CEA Saclay) for the 'Gould Belt survey' Key Programme Consortium

The Aquila Rift

This color-composite image of the Aquila Rift shows the extended filamentary structure of this star-forming cloud. A detailed study of this complex has shown 32 filaments that all appear to have very similar widths, with a value of about 0.3 light years.

Over 500 compact cores have been detected embedded in the filaments in this region: about 60 per cent of these are gravitationally bound, pre-stellar core candidates, the seeds of future stars. All pre-stellar cores are located in the densest, unstable filaments of the cloud - mostly along the two main filamentary streamers crossing the image diagonally from the top right to the lower left and from the top left downwards, respectively. About two hundred proto-stars have also been detected; some of them are visible as bright 'spots' along the main filaments.

The two glowing cavities on opposite sides of the image are HII regions, where young and bright stars illuminate the ionized hydrogen gas, causing it to shine.

Located at a distance of about 850 light years, the Aquila Rift belongs to the Gould Belt, a giant ring of stars and star-forming clouds in the vicinity of the Sun.

This image is based on observations performed by SPIRE at 500 μm and by PACS at 160 and 70 μm. These observations of the Aquila Rift are part of an extensive survey of the Gould Belt currently undertaken with Herschel.

Photo credit: ESA/Herschel/SPIRE/PACS/Ph. André (CEA Saclay) for the 'Gould Belt survey' Key Programme Consortium

LBN 149.02-00.13

Many consider the shamrock to be a symbol of rebirth and life, making it a fitting symbol for St. Patrick's Day, which happens to occur around the same time as the Spring Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also fitting that today's image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, features a region of star birth wrapped in a blanket of dust, colored green in this infrared view. Designated as LBN 149.02-00.13 (or Sh2-205 in the Sharpless catalog of nebulas), this interstellar cloud of dust and gas is a classic example of what astronomers call an HII region, because of all the ionized hydrogen, or HII, within it. Ionized gases carry an electric charge.

This stellar nursery is made up of a shell of ionized gas surrounding a void with an extremely hot, bright star in the middle. With strong stellar winds and intense ultraviolet radiation, the central star -- CY Camelopardalis -- both clears away nearby gas and dust and heats the remaining dust in the shell, causing it to glow in the infrared wavelengths that WISE detected. The dust in the surrounding shell, colored green in this image, is mostly made of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon grains, similar to soot. They are warmer in temperature than the more metallic dust grains seen glowing in red around CY Cam. The heavy elements in such dust particles are cooked up in previous generations of stars and then incorporated into the new stars that are born from the cloud. This really is a region of rebirth and life.

Regions very similar to LBN 149.02-00.13 have been featured in previous images, including the LBN 114.55+00.22 (PIA13127), and the LBN 211.91-01.37 (PIA13904) . Like these, LBN 149.02-00.13 can be found along the band of the Milky Way in the night sky, where clouds of gas and dust are much more common. It is located on the outer edge of our local spiral arm (the Orion Arm) about 3,000 light years away. WISE was particularly adept at seeing these types of regions because its infrared detectors were able to pick up light from the nebulae that many other telescopes cannot see.

Scattered throughout the region you can see small clusters of bright red objects, especially near the upper left portion of the image. These are likely "Young Stellar Objects," surrounded by cocoons of dense dust. Young Stellar Objects are stars in their earliest stages of life, just coming together and beginning to start their nuclear fusion. The clouds of gas and dust surrounding each star provide the material from which future planets might possibly form. Perhaps we are seeing the birth of several new planetary systems in this one image alone.

The colors used in this image represent specific wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and cyan (blue-green) represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22 microns, respectively, which is mostly emitted by dust.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Sh2-284

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, captured this image of a star-forming cloud of dust and gas located in the constellation of Monoceros. The nebula, commonly referred to as Sh2-284, is relatively isolated at the very end of an outer spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. In the night sky, it's located in the opposite direction from the center of the Milky Way.

Perhaps the most interesting features in Sh2-284 are what astronomer call "elephant trunks." Elephant trunks are monstrous pillars of dense gas and dust. The most famous examples of are the "Pillars of Creation," found in an iconic image of the Eagle nebula from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. In this WISE image, the trunks are seen as small columns of gas stretching towards the center of the void in Sh2-284, like little green fingers with yellow fingernails. The most notable one can be seen on the right side of the void at about the 3 o'clock position. It appears as a closed hand with a finger pointing towards the center of the void. That elephant trunk is about 7 light-years long.

Deep inside Sh2-284 resides an open star cluster, called Dolidze 25, which is emitting vast amounts of radiation in all directions, along with stellar winds. These stellar winds and radiation are clearing out a cavern inside the surrounding gas and dust, creating the void seen in the center. The bright green wall surrounding the cavern shows how far out the gas has been eroded. However, some sections of the original gas cloud were much denser than others, and they were able to resist the erosive power of the radiation and stellar winds. These pockets of dense gas remained and protected the gas "downwind" from them, leaving behind the elephant trunks. These pillars can also be thought of as rising like stalagmites from the cavern walls.

The Sh2-284 nebula is classified as an HII region, as is LBN 114.55+00.22 featured in the September 16, 2010 image. HII regions go hand in hand with star formation, and indeed the stars in the central Dolidze 25 cluster have just recently formed. They're hot, young, bright stars, with ages ranging from 1.5 to 13 million years -- infants by astronomical standards. In comparison, the sun is about 4.6 billion years old.

The colors used in this image represent specific wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and cyan (blue-green) represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22 microns, respectively, which is mostly emitted by dust.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Reflection Nebula BFS 29

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, captured this colorful image of the nebula BFS 29 surrounding the star CE-Camelopardalis, found hovering in the band of the night sky comprising the Milky Way. Most of the gas and dust in this image cannot be seen directly in visible light, but WISE's detectors revealed exquisite new details, and even some hidden stars.

The nebulous interstellar gas and dust in this image is known as BFS 29. "BFS" stands for Blitz, Fich, and Stark -- the three astronomers who identified and cataloged 65 new star-forming regions in 1982 (the "29" simply means that it's the 29th object in their catalog). In visible light, BFS 29 can be seen, but only very slightly. This is because the dust scatters and reflects some of the light from nearby stars, hence its classification as a reflection nebula. The gas in BFS 29 also contains large amounts of ionized hydrogen -- referred to by astronomers as "H II." Hence, the nebula is also classified as an HII region. Reflection nebulae and HII regions are often associated with star formation.

Most of the illumination and energy in BFS 29 is likely provided by the star CE-Camelopardalis. The "CE" in its name comes from a complex naming system for variable stars. Camelopardalis is the name of the constellation in which it is found, and means giraffe in Latin (from a camel wearing a leopard's coat). Of the three brightest stars in this image, it is the bright pink-colored star nearest to the center of the image. The other two bright stars cannot be seen in visible light; they are hidden behind the clouds of gas and dust. In infrared light, however, they shine through brilliantly. CE-Camelopardalis is a variable supergiant star, which means it will eventually end its life in a supernova, likely leaving behind a black hole. It is near the giraffe's hind foot, making a sort of ankle bracelet, as compared to the emerald necklace featured in the November 9, 2010 image.

All four of WISE's infrared detectors were used to make this image. The colors used represent specific wavelengths of infrared radiation. Blue and blue-green (cyan) represent 3.4- and 4.6-micron light, respectively. These wavelengths are mainly emitted by stars within the Milky Way. Green represents 12-micron light, which is emitted by the warm gas of the nebulae. Red represents the longest wavelength, 22-micron light emitted by cooler dust within the nebulae.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

Messier 33 - The Triangulum Galaxy

This image captured by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows of one of our closest neighboring galaxies, Messier 33. Also named the Triangulum galaxy (after the constellation it's found in), M33 is one of largest members in our small neighborhood of galaxies -- the Local Group. The Local Group consists of about 30 galaxies that are gravitationally bound and travel together through the universe. M33 is the third largest member of the Local Group, dwarfed only by the Andromeda galaxy (M31) and our very own home galaxy, the Milky Way.

M33 is extremely close as far as galaxies go, residing only 3 million light-years away. Its proximity, along with it being conveniently tilted towards Earth (about 54 degrees to the line of sight), make it very easy for astronomers to study in detail. The infrared images that WISE produces contribute to astronomers' overall understanding of a variety of processes happening in the galaxy. Areas in the spiral arms that are hidden behind dust in visible light shine through brightly in infrared light, showing where clouds of cool gas are concentrated. Star-forming regions are easy to spot in infrared (green and red areas in this image). Notice that there isn't a lot of star formation occurring near the center of M33. It would be difficult to deduce this lack of activity in the core by only looking a visible-light image, where the core appears to be the brightest feature. This infrared image also shows that the galaxy is surprisingly bigger than it appears in visible light. The cold dust seen by WISE extends much further out from the core than anticipated.

The bright yellow-orange 'blobs' scattered throughout M33 are areas where stars are forming at an especially intense rate. The largest one in the spiral arm to the upper left has its own name, NGC 604. It's an "H II" region -- an area of gas that is being heated and ionized by powerful young stars recently born inside of it. The Orion nebula is an example of a nearby H II region within our own Milky Way galaxy. NGC 604, however, is the largest such region in the entire Local Group of galaxies. It is over 40 times larger than the Orion nebula and much brighter. If NGC 604 were at the same distance from Earth as the Orion nebula, it would be the brightest object in the night sky (besides the Moon).

M33 is over 50,000 light years across (about half the size of the Milky Way). Because it is so close it appears quite large to us, covering a piece of sky nearly four times bigger than the full moon. Its relatively low surface brightness makes it difficult for human eyes to see, however. Even so, under exceptionally dark skies it can be seen with the unaided eye, making it one of the farthest objects visible without a telescope.

These images were made from observations by all four infrared detectors aboard WISE. Blue and cyan, or blue-green, represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is primarily light from stars. Green and red represent light at 12 and 22 microns, which is primarily light emitted from warm dust.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

LBN 114.55+00.22

Nebulae are enormous clouds of dust and gas occupying the space between the stars. Some have pretty names to match their good looks, for example the Rose Nebula, while others have much more utilitarian names. Such is the case with LBN 114.55+00.22, seen here in an image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

Named after the astronomer who published a catalog of nebulae in 1965, LBN stands for "Lynds Bright Nebula." The numbers 114.55+00.22 refer to nebula's coordinates in our Milky Way galaxy, serving as a sort of galactic home address.

Astronomers classify LBN 114.55+00.22 as an emission nebula. Unlike a reflection nebula, which reflects light from nearby stars, an emission nebula emits light. High-energy light blasted out from a nearby massive star strips away electrons from the nebula's hydrogen gas, causing the gas to become charged. These nebulae are also called HII regions, with the "H" standing for hydrogen and the "II" indicating that the gas is ionized. As the ionized gas begins to cool from a higher-energy state to a lower-energy state, it glows. In the case of LBN 114.55+00.22, dust blocks the view of most of this nebula in visible light. But the dust of the nebula is also warmed by the light of the young stars within, and WISE's infrared detectors see its beautiful infrared colors. Emission nebulae are usually found in the disks of spiral galaxies, and are places where new stars are forming.

In the lower left corner of the image is the bright red star IRAS 23304+6147, which is in the last phase of its life. As the hydrogen in its core burns out, the star will become a planetary nebula, ejecting material that absorbs visible light and glows in the infrared. This star's name comes from the 1983 survey mission Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).

Another bright object in this image is the supergiant variable star HIP 117078, seen above and to the right of the nebula. In this case, HIP stands for Hipparcos, a European Space Agency satellite that cataloged the positions of over 100,000 stars.

The colors used in this image represent specific wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and cyan represent light emitted at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is predominantly from stars. Green and red represent light from 12 and 22 microns, respectively, which is mostly emitted by dust.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

The Unicorn's Rose

Unicorns and roses are usually the stuff of fairy tales, but a new cosmic image taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Explorer (WISE) shows the Rosette Nebula located within the constellation Monoceros, or the Unicorn.

This flower-shaped nebula, also known by the less romantic name NGC 2237, is a huge star-forming cloud of dust and gas in our Milky Way galaxy. Estimates of the nebula's distance vary from 4,500 to 5,000 light-years away.

At the center of the flower is a cluster of young stars called NGC 2244. The most massive stars produce huge amounts of ultraviolet radiation, and blow strong winds that erode away the nearby gas and dust, creating a large, central hole. The radiation also strips electrons from the surrounding hydrogen gas, ionizing it and creating what astronomers call an HII region.

Although the Rosette Nebula is too faint to see with the naked eye, NGC 2244 is beloved by amateur astronomers because it is visible through a small telescope or good pair of binoculars. The English astronomer John Flamsteed discovered the star cluster NGC 2244 with a telescope around 1690, but the nebula itself was not identified until John Herschel (son of William Herschel, discoverer of infrared light) observed it almost 150 years later.

The streak seen at lower left is the trail of a satellite, captured as WISE snapped the multiple frames that make up this view.

This image is a four-color composite created by all four of WISE's infrared detectors. Color is representational: blue and cyan represent infrared light at wavelengths of 3.4 and 4.6 microns, which is dominated by light from stars. Green and red represent light at 12 and 22 microns, which is mostly light from warm dust.

Photo credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

N11 in the LMC

A spectacular new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image - one of the largest ever released of a star-forming region - highlights N11, part of a complex network of gas clouds and star clusters within our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud. This region of energetic star formation is one of the most active in the nearby Universe.

The Large Magellanic Cloud contains many bright bubbles of glowing gas. One of the largest and most spectacular has the name LHA 120-N 11, from its listing in a catalog compiled by the American astronomer and astronaut Karl Henize in 1956, and is informally known as N11. Close up, the billowing pink clouds of glowing gas make N11 resemble a puffy swirl of fairground candy floss. From further away, its distinctive overall shape led some observers to nickname it the Bean Nebula. The dramatic and colorful features visible in the nebula are the telltale signs of star formation. N11 is a well-studied region that extends over 1,000 light-years. It is the second largest star-forming region within the Large Magellanic Cloud and has produced some of the most massive stars known.

It is the process of star formation that gives N11 its distinctive look. Three successive generations of stars, each of which formed further away from the center of the nebula than the last, have created shells of gas and dust. These shells were blown away from the newborn stars in the turmoil of their energetic birth and early life, creating the ring shapes so prominent in this image.

Beans are not the only terrestrial shapes to be found in this spectacular high resolution image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. In the upper left is the red bloom of nebula LHA 120-N 11A. Its rose-like petals of gas and dust are illuminated from within, thanks to the radiation from the massive hot stars at its center. N11A is relatively compact and dense and is the site of the most recent burst of star development in the region.

Other star clusters abound in N11, including NGC 1761 at the bottom of the image, which is a group of massive hot young stars busily pouring intense ultraviolet radiation out into space. Although it is much smaller than our own galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud is a very vigorous region of star formation. Studying these stellar nurseries helps astronomers understand a lot more about how stars are born and their ultimate development and lifespan.

Both the Large Magellanic Cloud and its small companion, the Small Magellanic Cloud, are easily seen with the unaided eye and have always been familiar to people living in the southern hemisphere. The credit for bringing these galaxies to the attention of Europeans is usually given to Portuguese explorer Fernando de Magellan and his crew, who viewed it on their 1519 sea voyage. However, the Persian astronomer Abd Al-Rahman Al Sufi and the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci recorded the Large Magellanic Cloud in 964 and 1503 respectively.

Photo credit: NASA, ESA and Jesús Maíz Apellániz (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, Spain)

HII Region RCW 120 by Herschel

A Herschel image of the HII region RCW 120, highlighting the newly detected young stars at the borders of the ionizing bubble. The massive protostar, with mass 8-10 times that of the Sun is visible on the lower edge of the bubble, to the right. This color-composite image combines observations at wavelengths of 100 µm (red; PACS), 160 µm (green; PACS) and 250 µm (blue; SPIRE).

Photo credit: ESA, PACS & SPIRE Consortia, A. Zavagno (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) for the Herschel HOBYS and Evolution of Interstellar Dust Key Programmes