Blue Lagoon

Lanes of dark dust outline a stellar nursery known as the Lagoon Nebula in this new image from Paranal Observatory in Chile. The dust clouds are collapsing to give birth to new stars. Many stars have already taken shape in the region, which is more than 4,000 light-years away. This image was shot by an infrared camera, which captures wavelengths of light that are too long for the human eye to see. Infrared energy more easily penetrates the dust clouds than visible light, but in this case, the dust lanes are so dense that even the infrared can't get through. [ESO/VVV]