Star Cluster R136 Bursts Out

In the center of star-forming region 30 Doradus lies a huge cluster containing some of the largest, hottest, and most massive stars known. These stars, known collectively as star cluster R136 , were captured in the featured image in visible light by the Wide Field Camera 3 in 2009 peering through the Hubble Space Telescope . Gas and dust clouds in 30 Doradus , also known as the Tarantula Nebula, have been sculpted into elongated shapes by powerful winds and ultraviolet radiation from these hot cluster stars. The 30 Doradus Nebula lies within a neighboring galaxy known as the Large Magellanic Cloud and is located a mere 170,000 light-years away.