Astronomers have captured a breathtaking image of one of the brightest interstellar clouds of gas in the Large Magellanic Cloud located near the Milky Way in incredible detail.
Taken with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in Chile, the image shows the Tarantula Nebula at the top and its numerous neighbouring nebulae and star clusters.
Also known as the 30 Doradus, the Tarantula is the brightest star-forming region in the Local Group – which is made up of 54 galaxies, including the Milky Way.
The nebula, which is located in the constellation of Dorado (The Dolphinfish) and is part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, is around 159,800 light years from Earth.
At its heart is a giant star cluster called NGC 2070, whose dense core contains some of the most massive and luminous stars known, according to ESO.
The bright glow of the Tarantula was first recorded by French astronomer Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1751.
Another star cluster in the Tarantula Nebula is the much older Hodge 301. ESO says at least 40 stars are estimated to have exploded in this region.
On the left-hand side of the nebula is a bright open star cluster called NGC 2100, which shows a concentration of blue stars surrounded by red stars.
It was discovered in 1826 by Scottish astronomer James Dunlop who used a self-built 9-inch reflecting telescope.
Snaps of the Tarantula were taken with VST’s 256-megapixel camera called OmegaCAM and the final image was created using four different coloured filters.
