Star Cluster R136 Breaks Out

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