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Star Birth

Mountains of Creation

As each slider bar is manipulated, the view transitions from visible light to infrared light. In visible light: Bright, young stars light up the gas. In infrared light: Clusters of forming stars can be seen in the tips of massive dust pillars. As each slider bar is manipulated, the view transitions from visible light to infrared light. In visible light: Bright, young stars light up the gas. In infrared light: Clusters of forming stars can be seen in the tips of massive dust pillars.
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Infrared:
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Mountains of Creation

The visible glow of hot gas in this star-forming region only highlights the areas where stars have been born and emerged from their dust clouds. The infrared view lets us see columns of dust sculpted by the light of the young stars, which themselves contain embedded clusters of baby stars that are about to be born.
Visible: Bright, young stars light up the gas.
Infrared: Clusters of forming stars can be seen in the tips of massive dust pillars.
CREDITS: Visible: Digital Sky Survey. Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Allen (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA).