Explanation:
In the heart of monstrous
Tarantula Nebula lies huge bubbles of energetic gas,
long filaments of dark dust, and unusually massive stars.
In the center of this heart, is a
knot of stars so dense that it was once thought to be a single star.
This star cluster, labeled as
R136 or NGC 2070,
is visible just above the center of the
above image and home to a great number of hot young stars.
The energetic light from these stars continually ionizes nebula gas,
while their energetic particle wind blows
bubbles and defines intricate filaments.
The
above representative-color picture of this great
LMC nebula details its tumultuous center.
The Tarantula Nebula, also known as the
30 Doradus nebula, is one of the
largest
star-formation regions known, and has been creating
unusually strong episodes of star formation every few million years.
digg_url = 'http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090331.html'; digg_skin = 'compact';
