The Tarantula Nebula

NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has captured in stunning detail the spidery filaments & newborn stars of the Tarantula Nebula, a rich star-forming region also known as 30 Doradus. This cloud of glowing dust & gas is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the nearest galaxy to our own Milky Way, & is visible primarily from the Southern Hemisphere. This image of an interstellar cauldron provides a snapshot of the complex physical processes & chemistry that govern the birth & death of stars.