Denizen of the Tarantula Nebula

Denizen of the Tarantula Nebula



The star cluster at lower right catalogedas Hodge 301, is a denizen o the Tarantula Nebula.An evocative nebula in the southern sky,the sprawling cosmic Tarantula is an energeti starforming region some 168,000 light-years distantin our neighboring galaxy the Large Magellanic Cloud.The stars within Hodge 301 formed together tens of millions of years agoand as the massive ones quickly exhaust their nuclear fuel theyexplode.In fact, the giant stars o Hodge 301are rapidly approaching this violent final phase of stellar evolution knownas a supernova.These supernova blasts send material an shockwaves back into the nebulargas to create the Tarantula's glowing filaments also visible in thisHubble Space Telescop Heritage image.But these spectacular stellar death explosions signal star birthas well, as the blast waves condense gas and dust to ultimatelyform the next generation of star inside the Tarantula Nebula.