A New View of the Tarantula Nebula

This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra (blue), Hubble (green), and Spitzer (red). Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming regions close to the Milky Way. Chandra's X-rays detect gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by stellar winds and supernovas. This high-energy stellar activity creates shock fronts, which are similar to sonic booms. Hubble reveals the light from massive stars at various stages of star birth, while Spitzer shows where the relatively cooler gas and dust lie. Latest Images March 7 Finding Bubbles in the Milky Way March 7 An Audience-Favorite Nebula February 29 Orion's Rainbow of Infrared Light February 22 Building a Buckyball Particle in Space February 22 Stacking Buckyballs in Space February 1 Remnant of an Explosion With a Powerful Kick? January 10 Stars Brewing in Cygnus X January 10 Goings On Around Star-forming Towns January 10 Dusty Space Cloud January 10 A Dwarf Galaxy's Star Bar and Dusty Wing