Birthplace of the Stars

A massive stellar nursery known as the Carina Nebula puts on a spectacular display in this combined image from optical and radio telescopes. The orange, which shows the radio waves, depicts vast bubbles of cold gas and dust, where many of the new stars are being born. The nebula, which is about 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina, the keel, has already given birth to some of the heaviest stars in the galaxy, with many more still gestating. One of its most impressive stars, Eta Carinae, is the bright yellow star just to the upper left of center. It may actually be a pair of stars, the largest of which could end its life as a supernova. [ESO/APEX]