NASA released a stunning image of the Rosetta Nebula on Thursday.
The colorful image captured by the Herschel Space Observatory shows dust clouds associated with the stellar nursery, which is about 5,000 light-years from Earth. The nebula is located in the Monoceros, or Unicorn, constellation.
The bright smudges in the image are dusty cocoons containing massive embryonic stars, according to a statement from NASA, and they will grow up to 10 times the mass of the Sun.
EVIDENCE OF ANCIENT RAINFOREST IN ANTARCTICA POINT TO WARMER PREHISTORIC WORLD
The space agency said the small spots near the center of the image are lower mass stellar embryos.
The nebula itself is located to the right of the picture, along with its own massive cluster of stars.