NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged this relatively close star-forming region within the Milky Way in the constellation Scorpius, about 5900 light-years from Earth.

At the centre is thought to be a massive star, about 30 times the mass of the Sun and still in the process of formation. At the near-infrared wavelengths to which Hubble is sensitive, the central region appears dark because there is too much obscuring dust. But near-infrared light leaks in from two sides (top left and bottom right), where a powerful jet from the massive protostar is clearing the dust. Multi-wavelength images, including this incredible Hubble scene, will help us better understand how the biggest, brightest stars in our galaxy are born.

Image description:

A nebula full of stars. From top left to bottom right, the centre of the image shines brightly with light from where new stars are forming and is partially covered by dark dust. Layers of coloured gas and dust spread across the rest of the image. The nebula is speckled with foreground stars with large diffraction spikes.