Detail of the nebula NGC 3603 in the Carene - Star life cycle in NGC...

Detail of the nebula NGC 3603 in the Carene - Star life cycle in NGC 3603 - In the center of the picture is a cluster of massive young stars formed from the gas surrounding them. Two pillars of gas and dust visible on the right at the top and bottom will one day form other stars, as probably the dark cloud at the top right of the image called Bok's globule. Above the left of the star cluster, an old blue supergiant star, Sher 25, arrives at the end of life. The nebula NGC 3603 is located approximately 20,000 light years from Earth in the southern constellation of Carene. Image obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope. This image made by the Hubble space telescope nicely illustrates the entire stellar life cycle of stars, starting with the Bok globules (dark clouds at the upper right) and giant gaseous pillars, followed by circumstellar disks and progressing to evolved massive stars in the young starburst cluster (center). The blue supergiant star Sher 25 with its ring and bipolar outflow (upper left of center) marks the end of the life cycle. NGC 3603 is located 20 000 light years away in Carina constellation