The N44 Emission Nebula

N44 is one of the largest and most intricate nebulas in this part of the universe. Located in our galactic neighbor the Large Magellanic Cloud , N44 houses numerous massive bright stars, lengthy lanes of dark dust , and vast clouds of hydrogen gas that glows red. The red color of the N44 emission nebula comes from pervasive hydrogen atoms re-acquiring electron s that were knocked away by energetic light from massive stars. The central stars also appear to have somehow created the huge superbubble visible in the lower left. N44, pictured above , spans about 1,000 light years and lies about 170,000 light years distant.