Explanation:
The largest, most violent star forming region known in the whole
Local Group of galaxies
lies in our neighboring galaxy the
Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
Were the Tarantula Nebula at the distance of the
Orion Nebula -- a local star forming region --
it would take up fully half the sky.
Also called
30 Doradus, the red and pink gas indicates a massive
emission nebula, although
supernova remnants and
dark nebula also exist there.
The bright knot of stars
left of center
is called R136 and contains many of the most
massive, hottest, and brightest stars known.
The
above image is one of the largest mosaics ever created by
observations of the
Hubble Space Telescope and has revealed unprecedented details of this enigmatic star forming region.
The image is being released to celebrate the
22nd anniversary of Hubble's launch.
Astronomy Seminar of the Week:
The Great Debate, Part I
