February - Celebrate

Tapestry of Stars in the Carina Nebula This glittering star cluster, called Trumpler 14 is located 8,000 light-years away in the Carina Nebula, a huge star-formation region. Because the cluster is only 500,000 years old, it has one of the highest concentrations of massive, luminous stars in the entire Milky Way. The blue-white stars are burning their fuel so quickly, they will explode in a supernovae in a few million years. The combinations of outflowing stellar "winds" and, ultimately, supernova blast waves will carve out cavities in nearby clouds of gas and dust and will create the beginning of a new generation of stars.