Clouds of hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue) mark this very active region in the
Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way about 130,000 light
years from us. At the center of the large red cloud (NGC 2014) is a brilliant
cluster of young stars, each about 10-20 times more massive than our sun.
The radiation from these stars sets the surround gas glowing, and blowing out
the bubble shapes visible on the left of NGC 2014. In contrast, the round blue nebula
near the top of the image (NGC 2020) is created by a single massive star,
frantically shedding its outer layers and exposing its extremely hot core,
making this star about 200,000 times brighter than our sun. Other catalogued
objects in this scene include NGC 2021, 2032, 2035, 2040, and 2053.

Image data:
Telescope: Planewave 17”
Camera: SBIG STXL-11002
Exposure: 27 hours through RGB, hydrogen-alpha, Oxygen III filters
Location: Observatorio El Sauce, Chile