Circinus West star formation

This image shows the Circinus West molecular cloud captured by the 570-megapixel Dark Energy Camera, one of the most powerful digital cameras in the world located in Chile. Dark nebulae like this are so dense and cold that atoms bond with each other to form molecules, and not the hotter plasma that we see throughout most of the universe. Circinus West is 180 light-years across and contains 250,000 times the mass of the Sun. It is 2,500 light years distant from Earth. (from New Thinking Allowed)

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA

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