A bubble in the LMC. (ESO/Manu Mejias)

Superbubble LHA 120-N 44 in NGC1929, part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, is formed by the stellar winds from hot young stars – blue/white in this image – shaping the clouds of gas and dust, in this image from the European Southern Observatory.

Shockwaves from supernova explosions add to the effect, and the intense ultraviolet radiation from the stars makes the gas and dust glow. As the gas and dust is compressed, new stars form in turn.

This close-up image was made from ESO Very Large Telescope FORS-1 images identified by Manu Mejias, from Argentina, in ESO’s 2010 Hidden Treasures competition, in which people were invited to find impressive images in ESO archives.

This image is published in the October 2011 issue of Astronomy & Geophysics.

More information

www.eso.org/public/news/eso1125