The Pac-man

This star forming region of the sky lies 9500 light years away in the constellation of Cassiopoeia. The hot, young stars at the centre of the gas and dust lanes that make up the nebula cause it to shine by emission, particularly at the wavelength of ionized hydrogen in which this image was taken. The nebula also features "Bok globules", columns of gas being eroded by the intense ultraviolet radiation from the massive blue stars in the nebula. If they survive this onslaught, they might well go on to form stars, and eventually even other solar systems.