Space telescopes capture new composite view of the Tarantula Nebula

Three space telescopes have captured overlapping translucent layers of light to form a composite image of the Tarantula Nebula, also known as 30 Doradus. Astronomy Magazine and Astronomy.com both reported that the image combines observations spanning wavelengths from X-ray to infrared. The nebula is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. [1][2]

Diffuse clouds of blue X-ray light captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory highlight superheated hot gas. Astronomy Magazine reported that this gas was blown off young, massive stars and superheated by stellar winds. Infrared and optical data from space observatories were also processed alongside the Chandra data to complete the multi-wavelength view. [1]

The nebula sits within the southern constellation Dorado. The constellation contains most of the Large Magellanic Cloud and was named in the late 16th century after the mahi-mahi. [1][3]