The Tarantula Nebula in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble Space Telescope

The Tarantula Nebula in The Large Magellanic Cloud | Hubble Space Telescope

The image shows the central region of the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The young and dense star cluster R136 can be seen at the lower right of the image. This cluster contains hundreds of young blue stars, among them the most massive star detected in the Universe so far. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is a dwarf galaxy and satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.

Distance from Earth: 170,000 light years

Using the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope astronomers were able to study the central and most dense region of this cluster in detail. Here they found nine stars of more than 100 solar masses.

Credit: NASA, ESA, P Crowther (University of Sheffield)
Release Date: March 17, 2016

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