This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows part of the star-forming complex N159 in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy located about 160,000 light-years away.
This Hubble image shows part of N159, a star-forming complex in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Image credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble/R. Indebetou.
N159 – one of the most massive giant molecular clouds in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite of our Milky Way Galaxy.
The cloud, located at the southwestern tip of the famous Tarantula Nebula, is more than 150 light-years in diameter.
The new Hubble image shows only part of the N159 complex.
“The scene is dominated by thick clouds of cold hydrogen gas, forming a complex network of ridges, cavities and filaments of light,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.
“In these dense clouds, newly formed stars begin to shine, their intense radiation causing the surrounding hydrogen to glow in deep red tones.”
“The brightest regions mark the presence of hot, massive young stars, whose powerful stellar winds and energetic light are altering their environment.”
“These forces create bubble-like structures and hollow cavities in the gas, a clear sign of stellar feedback in action.”
“The dark clouds in the foreground are illuminated from behind by new stars.”
“Together, the glowing clouds and sculpted bubbles demonstrate the dynamic interaction between star formation and the material from which stars are born, reflecting the continuous cycle of creation and transformation in this neighboring galactic system.”
