Gallery | Pics from AAS 219 in Jan 2012 | X marks the Swan

4500 light years away in the direction of the constellation of the swan, Cygnus X is a sprawling star-forming region. This infrared image by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows huge, complex structures carved by the fierce winds and light of newborn massive stars. Cavities are dug out, long finger-like tendrils formed, and filaments compressed by these forces, which glow in the IR. Eventually, many of the stars born here will explode, compressing the gas and dust further, in turn creating even more stars. It's the cycle of life, written in cosmic material dozens of light years across.

Original Source

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA

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