The Tarantula Nebula

The Tarantula Nebula is an extraordinary target in the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is one of our cosmic neighbourhood's most extreme star forming regions - star birth, supernova explosions, globular clusters, emission nebula and cosmic bubbles all crammed into one place!

The chaotic interaction of newborn stars and newly exploded supernovas created vast amounts of radiation and fierce interstellar wind. It blows the gigantic interstellar cloud into several cavities and streams of dust lanes. The radiation from those events ionised the gas clouds and caused them to shine in stunning colours.

For us lucky few living in the Southern Hemisphere, the Magellanic cloud is a marvellous wonder to observe. The second photo illustrates what the Large Magellanic Cloud looks like in the Southern Sky, and where the Tarantula Nebula is within the Cloud. The picture with the tail of the Milky Way was taken near an abandoned train station in the Blue Mountains. It was a magical and unforgettable night.

(The photo was created using both HSO and RGB data. The original data was acquired from iTelescope, which I processed using pixinsight and photoshop.)

Recognition

This image was published in the Amateur Astrophotography Magazine Issue 106 as cover photo.

Same image in the content Page of Amateur Astrophotography Magazine Issue 106