NGC 2467, this moving cauldron of gas and dust clouds filled with bright blue hot young stars, was discovered in the 19th century and is located in the southern constellation Puppis. Its name should not be confused with the word ‘puppies’. This star is estimated to be about 13,000 light years from Earth.

This star formation region is a vast cloud of hydrogen gas that acts as an incubator for the formation of new stars. Some of these young stars peek out from the dense clouds where they were born, while others are still hidden. These stars mould and gradually erode the gas clouds around them, while emitting intense ultraviolet radiation that causes the entire region to glow. Research shows that most of this radiation comes from the single large and bright star just above the centre of this near-infrared image taken by the NASA Hubble space telescope.

Image description:

Bright blue stars are scattered in a dense field of orange and yellow clouds of gas and dust. Some stars are very bright and have four diffraction spikes, while others are fainter. Very little of the darkness of space can be seen through the clouds.