Massive star-forming interstellar cloud captured by 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera

This celestial landscape, captured by the 570-megapixel US Department of Energy-fabricated Dark Energy Camera (DEC), shows a massive star-forming interstellar cloud. Called Lupus 3, this star-forming nebula lies about 500 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Lupus (the Wolf).

"The clashing of energy and matter can lead to fantastical sites on Earth, such as glowing auroras and powerful lightning displays. The same can be said about space, where energy from bright young stars and protostars floods their surroundings, illuminating vast interstellar clouds of dust and gas to create spectacular objects known as reflection nebulae. One stunning example of these clashing forces is the star-forming interstellar cloud Lupus 3, the National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory (NOIRLab) wrote in a post.

Two young blue stars at the centre of this image are lighting up the surrounding gas and dust to illuminate the reflection nebula known as Bernes 149. These stars grew out of Lupus 3, which stretches like a blanket across the background of stars.

Lupus 3 is home to a fleet of infant stars known as T Tauri stars, which will eventually utilize the resources within the coal-black interstellar cloud to mature into fully-fledged stars.

HR 5999 and HR 6000 are the oldest of the stars within the Lupus 3 region and despite their luminosity, these sibling stars are not yet powered by nuclear fusion like our Sun.

Lupus 3 extends across an area equivalent to approximately 24 times the diameter of the Moon as observed from Earth. With its expansive 2.2-degree field of view, DECcam possesses the ability to capture large objects such as Lupus 3 in all their magnificence within a single frame.

DECam is mounted on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile. It features an array of 62 charged-coupled devices (CCDs) that collectively form its massive image sensor. These CCDs work together to capture high-resolution images of the night sky, enabling astronomers to study celestial objects with great detail and precision.