Astronomy Picture of the Day has been knocking me out this past
week. Today they feature the Tarantula Nebula from the Hubble
Heritage site, so big and bold we can see it with the unaided
eye from across intergalactic space. Let the astronomers tell it
to you: No known star-forming region in our own galaxy is as
large or as prolific as (this). Fortunately, (the Tarantula
Nebula) can be seen clearly from Earth, and it is nearby enough
for Hubble to resolve its individual stars. This allows
astronomers the rare opportunity to study stellar evolution
closely in the exotic, extragalactic context of a starburst. The
Hubble composite image comprises one of the largest mosaics ever
assembled from Hubble photos, including observations taken by
Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for
Surveys. Hubble’s unparalleled eye for fine, intricate detail is
composited with ground-based data that trace hydrogen gas (in
red) and oxygen (in blue). These complementary observations of
the Tarantula Nebula were taken