Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day we feature a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

October 11, 1995

LMC Star Clouds
Credit: NASA, Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope

Explanation: Pictured above are clouds of young stars forming an arc in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud, the nearest galaxy to the our Milky Way Galaxy. These stars are situated in a star forming region known as N 51. The stars are so young they shine mostly in blue and ultraviolet light, and so massive their lifetimes are only millions of years - much shorter than the billions of years of lower mass stars like our Sun. This picture was taken in ultraviolet light by NASA's Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope in March 1995. The reason the arc has the observed shape is currently unknown.

Tomorrow's picture: HH-47 Star Jet

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (GMU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA).
NASA Technical Rep.: Sherri Calvo. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA/ GSFC