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Bruce Murray Space Image Library

The Lupus 3 dark cloud and associated hot young stars

The Lupus 3 dark cloud and associated hot young stars
The Lupus 3 dark cloud and associated hot young stars On the left of this new image there is a dark column resembling a cloud of smoke. To the right shines a small group of brilliant stars. At first glance these two features could not be more different, but they are in fact closely linked. The cloud contains huge amounts of cool cosmic dust and is a nursery where new stars are being born. It is likely that the Sun formed in a similar star formation region more than four billion years ago. This cloud is known as Lupus 3 and it lies about 600 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius (The Scorpion). The section shown here is about five light-years across. ESO/F. Comeron

For much more information about this image, including zoomable versions and context maps, visit the European Southern Observatory website.