A shining stellar nursery amid vast bubbles of heated hydrogen

In the Perseus arm of the Milky Way, in the constellation of Puppis, a half dozen vast “bubbles” of hydrogen gas, heated by intense ultraviolet radiation from nearby O-type stars, provide spectacular backdrops for stellar nurseries where new stars are being born. This glowing cloud, known as SH 2-305, is an emission nebula, or HII region, illuminated by at least two O-type stars and probably several others. Such stars live fast and die young, shining a million times brighter than the Sun with up to around 90 times the mass. This image was captured by the European Southern Observatory’s Cosmic Gems programme, an initiative to gather engaging imagery when science observations are not possible.

The emission nebula SH 2-305 in Puppis. Image: ESO