Tarantula nebula NGC 2070. Known as 30 Doradus or NGC 2070,the Tarantula nebula is a giant emission nebula spanning nearly 1000 light years across. It lies within Earth's neighbouring galaxy,the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC),in the constellation Doradus. Inside this nebula is a central young cluster of massive stars,known as R136,whose intense radiation and strong winds have helped create the nebula's glow and shape the spidery filaments. Also seen are several dark clouds,sprawling wispy filaments of gas,compact emission nebulae,nearly spherical supernova remnants,and areas surrounding hot stars known as superbubbles. Image obtained from the Curtis Schmidt telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile |