A new image from the Very Large Telescope in Chile reveals how hundreds of young stars sculpt and illuminate gas and dust in their stellar nursery. Released July 11 by the European Southern Observatory, the picture (above) shows star cluster RCW 38, which is about 5,500 light-years from Earth toward the constellation Vela, in infrared light. Bright young stars shine in blue; streams of cooler dust glow in red and orange. The stars are so bright and hot that their radiation pushes the dust and gas around them into intricate lacelike webs.
展开▼
