Explanation:
A cosmic bubble of gas and dust,
RCW 79 has grown to about 70 light-years
in diameter, blown by the winds and radiation from hot
young stars.
Infrared
light from the dust embedded in the
nebula is tinted red in this gorgeous false-color view from the
Spitzer
Space Telescope.
A good 17 thousand light-years away in the
grand southern
constellation Centaurus,
the expanding nebula itself has triggered star formation
as it plows into the gas and dust surrounding it.
In fact, this penetrating
infrared picture reveals groups of new
stars as yellowish points scattered along the bubble's edge.
One remarkable group still lies within its own natal bubble
at about 7 o'clock (lower left), while
another can be seen near the upper gap at about 3 o'clock
(right) from the bubble's center.
