Cosmic Nebulae and Star Formation

Stunning images of colorful cosmic landscapes featuring nebulae and star-forming regions, showcasing intricate patterns of dust and gas in deep space.

The Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region's entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in infrared light.

The Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region's entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in infrared light.

This image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer highlights several star-forming regions. There are five distinct centers of star birth in this one image alone. The largest, brightest cloud, in the upper right is known as Gum 22.

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This image from NASA's WISE highlights several star-forming regions. Gum 22, Gum 23, IRAS 09002-4732, Bran 226, and finally Gum 25.

Extraterrestrial Fireworks

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This swirling landscape of stars is known as the North America nebula. Spitzer.

This infrared image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer shows exceptionally cold, dense cloud cores seen in silhouette against the bright diffuse infrared glow of the plane of the Milky Way galaxy.

This swirling landscape of stars is known as the North America nebula. Spitzer.

Starbirth region N66

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This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming regions close to the Milky Way.

Stellar nursery in the Rosette Nebula.

Clusters of Stars in the Tarantula Nebula

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This image from the Herschel Space Observatory shows most the cloud associated with the Rosette nebula, a stellar nursery about 5,000 light-years from Earth in the Monoceros, or Unicorn, constellation.

Far being shone nebula and star field against space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA". 3D rendering.. Being shone nebula and star field. 3D rendering

The blue star near the center of this image is Zeta Ophiuchi. Zeta Ophiuchi is actually a very massive, hot, bright blue star plowing its way through a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas in this image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.

Gripped in the claw of the constellation Scorpius sits the reflection nebula DG 129, a cloud of gas and dust that reflects light from nearby, bright stars. This infrared view of the nebula was captured by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer.

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. Spitzer.

NASAs Great Observatories Examine the Galactic Center Region. November 10, 2009: A never-before-seen view of the turbulent heart of our Milky Way galaxy. The composite image features the spectacle of stellar evolution: from vibrant regions of star birth, to young hot stars, to old cool stars, to seething remnants of stellar death called black holes. This activity occurs against a fiery backdrop in the crowded, hostile environment of the galaxys core, the center of which is dominated by a supermassive black hole nearly four million times more massive than our Sun. Permeating the region is a diffuse blue haze of X-ray light from gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by outflows from the supermassive black hole as well as by winds from massive stars and by stellar explosions. cocoons.

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Spitzer Space Telescope image of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy. The infrared image, a mosaic of 300,000 individual tiles, offers astronomers a unique chance to study the lifecycle of stars and dust in a single galaxy. Nearly one million objects are revealed for the first time in this Spitzer view, which represents about a 1,000-fold improvement in sensitivity over previous space-based missions. Most of the new objects are dusty stars of various ages populating the Large Magellanic Cloud; the rest are thought to be background galaxies. The blue colour in the picture, seen most prominently in the central bar, represents starlight from older stars.

NGC 3372, known as the Great Carina Nebula, is home to massive stars and flowing nebulae of gas and dust dominated by the super-bright massive star named Eta Carinae

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Two extremely bright stars illuminate a greenish mist in this and image from the new 'GLIMPSE360' survey from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Sprawling across the constellation Vela is a complex of dark, dense clouds of dust and gas. The complex is called the Vela Molecular Cloud Ridge. This ridge may form part of the edge of the Orion spiral arm spur in our Milky Way galaxy. WISE.

Composite image of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy, from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Dated 2003

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The six red dots in this composite picture indicate the location of the first new near-Earth asteroid, called 2013 YP139, as seen by NASA's NEOWISE.

An infrared image from NASA's WISE, showcases the Tadpole nebula, a star-forming hub in the Auriga constellation about 12,000 light-years from Earth.

The blue star near the center of this image is Zeta Ophiuchi. Zeta Ophiuchi is actually a very massive, hot, bright blue star plowing its way through a large cloud of interstellar dust and gas. WISE.

Sprawling across the constellation Vela is a complex of dark, dense clouds of dust and gas. The complex is called the Vela Molecular Cloud Ridge. This ridge may form part of the edge of the Orion spiral arm spur in our Milky Way galaxy. WISE.

Space beautiful nebula with bright stars and clouds

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The Cocoon nebula is featured in this image from NASA's WISE. This cloud of dust and gas, cataloged as IC 5146 and located in the constellation Cygnus, is wrapped in a dark cloud of dust called Barnard 168. Within this cocoon of dust and gas, new stars are forming and beginning to emerge into the wild.

This image of the Crab Nebula combines data from five different telescopes. It is know as the expanding gaseous remnant from a star that self-detonated as a supernova, briefly shining as brightly as 400 million suns.

This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Tarantula Nebula in two wavelengths of infrared light, each represented by a different color. The red color at the heart of the nebula shows the presence of particularly hot gas emitting infrared light at a wavelength of 4.5 micrometers. The blue regions are dust composed of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are also found in ash from coal, wood and oil fires on Earth. Regions emitting both wavelengths appear white.

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This image was compiled using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope using the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and the Multiband Imaging Photometer (MIPS) during Spitzer's cold mission, before the spacecraft's liquid helium coolant ran out in 2009. The colors correspond with IRAC wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (cyan) and 8 microns (green), and 24 microns (red) from the MIPS instrument. The green-and-orange delta filling most of this image is a nebula, or a cloud of gas and dust. This region formed from a much larger cloud of gas and dust that has been carved away by radiation from stars. The bright region at the tip of the nebula is dust that has been heated by the stars' radiation, which creates the surrounding red glow. The white color is the combination of four colors (blue, green, orange and red), each representing a different wavelength of infrared light, which is invisible to human eyes. The massive stars illuminating this region belong to a star cluster that exten

Dozens of newborn stars sprouting jets from their dusty cocoons have been spotted in images from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. This view shows a portion of sky near Canis Major.

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The Flame Nebula sits on the eastern hip of Orion the Hunter, a constellation most easily visible in the northern hemisphere during winter evenings in this view from NASA's WISE Telescope.

This image combines data from four different space telescopes to create a multi-wavelength view of all that remains of the oldest documented example of a supernova, called RCW 86.

The Heart and Soul nebulae are seen in this infrared mosaic from NASA's WISE. Located in the constellation Cassiopeia, about 6,000 light-years from Earth, the Heart and Soul nebulae form a vast star-forming complex that makes up part of the Perseus spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. The nebula to the right is the Heart, and to the left is the Soul nebula.

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Far being shone nebula and star field against space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA". 3D rendering.. Being shone nebula and star field. 3D rendering

Outer Space Galaxy Stars Universe Cosmic Background

False-colored view of the Messier 82 (M82) galaxy.

This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the Tarantula Nebula in three wavelengths of infrared light, each represented by a different color. The magenta-colored regions are dust composed of molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are also found in ash from coal, wood and oil fires on Earth. PAHs emit in multiple wavelengths. The PAHs emit in multiple wavelengths, so the magenta color is a combination of red (corresponding to an infrared wavelength of 8 micrometers) and blue (3.6 micrometers). The green color in this image shows the presence of particularly hot gas emitting infrared light at a wavelength of 4.5 micrometers. The stars in the image are mostly a combination of green and blue. White hues indicate regions that radiate in all three wavelengths.

Two stars locked into a tight orbit around each other.

This colorful picture is a mosaic of Messier 8, or the Lagoon nebula, taken by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer. This nebula is composed of clouds of gas and dust in which new stars are forming.

Milky way, space and stars in dust cloud, universe with light, and color glow particles in solar system. Galaxy, infinity and planets in cosmos with nebula shine, dark sky and nature in aerospace.

This false-color image taken by NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope shows the South Pillar region of the star-forming region called the Carina Nebula. Though the nebulas most famous and massive star, Eta Carinae, is too bright to be observed by infrared telescopes, the downward-streaming rays hint at its presence above the picture frame. Ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds from Eta Carinae and its siblings have shredded the cloud to pieces, leaving a mess of tendrils and pillars. This shredding process triggered the birth of the new stars uncovered by Spitzer. This image was taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer. It is a three-color composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red).

Radiation and winds from massive stars have blown a cavity into the surrounding dust and gas, creating the Trifid nebula, as seen here in infrared light by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

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This infrared image from NASA's WISE features one of the bright stars in the constellation Perseus, named Menkhib, along with a large star-forming cloud NGC 1499, or the California nebula.

NGC 1569

This image shows the famous Pleiades cluster of stars as seen through the eyes of WISE.

This Herschel image of the Eagle nebula shows the self-emission of the intensely cold nebula's gas and dust.

NGC 3603, a hot young star cluster in the Milky Way. massive newborn stars. The massive stars in the center of the cluster triggered the formation of younger stars in the halo, which can be seen as red dots. The dust at the center of the cluster is very hot, producing copious amounts of infrared light, which results in the bright, yellow cores of the nebulosity. The cluster contains some of the most massive stars known. Winds and radiation from the stars are evaporating and dispersing the cloud

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NGC 3603

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Nearly 200 000 light-years from Earth, the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, floats in space, in a long and slow dance around our galaxy. As the Milky Ways gravity gently tugs on its neighbours gas clouds, they collapse to form new stars. In turn, these light up the gas clouds in a kaleidoscope of colours, visible in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

NASA's WISE captured this image of a hidden star-forming cloud of dust and gas located in the constellation of Cepheus.

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Heart Nebula in Cassiopeia

IC1848

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 sits next to the nebula N76 in a bright, star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy.

Far being shone nebula and star field against space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA".. Being shone and star field against space.

This image of the Elephant's Trunk nebula from NASA's Wide-field Survey Explorer shows clouds of dust and gas being pushed and eroded by a massive star. The bright 'trunk' of the nebula near the center is an especially dense cloud.

RCW 79 Nebula in Centaurus

Planetary nebula Messier 27, known as the Dumbbell Nebula.

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This image shows a composite view of the Crab nebula, an iconic supernova remnant in our Milky Way galaxy, as viewed by the Herschel Space Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope.

This image shows the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy in infrared light as seen by the Herschel Space Observatory.

This nebula, which is in the constellation of Scutum, has no common name since it is hidden behind dust clouds. It takes an infrared telescope like NASA's Spitzer to see through this dark veil and reveal this spectacular hidden nebula.

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This vibrant image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (detected by the multiband imaging photometer) shows the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our own Milky Way galaxy.

Some of the coldest and darkest dust in space shines brightly in this infrared image from the Herschel Observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important participation from NASA.

Far being shone nebula and star field against space. Elements of this image furnished by NASA.. Being shone nebula

A cluster of newborn stars herald their birth in this interstellar Valentine's Day commemorative picture obtained with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. These bright young stars are found in a rosebud-shaped (and rose-colored) nebulosity known as NGC 7129.

Over 11,000 years ago, a massive, supergiant star came to the end of its life. The star's core collapsed to form an incredibly dense ball of neutrons, and its exterior was blasted away in an immense release of energy astronomers call a supernova.

South Pillar region of the star-forming region called the Carina Nebula, taken by the Spitzer Space Telescope. Dated 2003

NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer captured this image of a hidden star-forming cloud of dust and gas located in the constellation of Cepheus. What appears to the naked eye as the blackness of space is in fact a dark nebula.

The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image. The collision, which began more than 100 million years ago and is still occurring, has triggered the formation of millions of stars in clouds of dusts and gas in the galaxies. Hubble and Spitzer.

This image shows the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy in infrared light as seen by ESA's Herschel Space Observatory and NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The brightest center-left region is called 30 Doradus, or the Tarantula Nebula.

In the Perseus spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy, opposite the galactic center, lies the nebula SH 2-235, a huge star formation complex. WISE.

The false-color composite image of the Stephans Quintet galaxy cluster is made up of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Spain.

Something appears to be peering through a shiny red mask, in this new false-colored image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The mysterious blue eyes are actually starlight from the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163.

Sprawling across the constellation Vela is a complex of dark, dense clouds of dust and gas. The complex is called the Vela Molecular Cloud Ridge. This ridge may form part of the edge of the Orion spiral arm spur in our Milky Way galaxy. WISE.

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Star systems in deep space, abstract illustration

Artists impression of massive star cluster within our Milky Way Galaxy ablaze with glow of 14 rare red supergiant stars interspersed with young blue stars. The cluster contains perhaps 20,000 stars. Credit NASA. Science Astronomy

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