J.M. Apellaniz / IAA / NASA / ESA

This broad vista of young stars and gas clouds in our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The star-forming region is known as N11 or the Bean Nebula.

Cotton candy from outer space

You want sparkles with that? The Hubble Space Telescope serves up a delicious picture of the nebula known as N11, complete with sparkly star clusters embedded in fluffy pink clouds of gas. This exceptionally energetic star-forming region, also known as the Bean Nebula, extends over 1,000 light-years in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It's in the southern constellation Dorado, about 180,000 light-years from Earth. Three generations of star formation have created shells of gas and dust ... which are being blown away by radiation from the newborn stars. You can watch the story unfold in a Hubblecast video from the European Space Agency. If you like this image, be sure to check out this different perspective on N11, as well as this closeup of the region's Rose Nebula. Then knock yourself out clicking through scores of stunning sights in our Space Gallery.

Discuss this post

Or as I prefer: "Stellar Nursery in pink AND blue!"

  • 1 vote
Reply#1 - Wed Jun 23, 2010 5:20 AM EDT

An absolutely breath-taking image. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Peace

  • 1 vote
Reply#2 - Wed Jun 23, 2010 9:51 AM EDT

This is awesome, I just joined www.laas.org (Los Angeles Astronomical Society) I am scouting for a Telescope, and will eventually get into astralphotography (which is a expensive hobby) Still I will be using LAAS equipment to make a Dobsonian at some point.

Super Cool stuff!

  • 1 vote
Reply#3 - Wed Jun 23, 2010 10:23 AM EDT

More specifically it is an H11 region of star forming capacity. The newly formed blue giants are

energizing cold H2 gas and makeing it glow in the H-alpha region of the spectrum.

    Reply#4 - Thu Jun 24, 2010 9:35 AM EDT

    Oh that's Hll (Htwo region)

      Reply#5 - Thu Jun 24, 2010 11:43 AM EDT
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