Apod-042.mp4 -

The story begins in the , a quartet of massive stars at the nebula's heart. These aren't ordinary stars; they are "stellar bullies." They blast the surrounding hydrogen gas with intense ultraviolet light, carving out a massive cavern in space. In the video, you can see the gas glowing like neon lights in a city, pushed away by the sheer force of stellar winds.

It is the closest region of massive star formation to Earth and can be seen with the naked eye as the "fuzzy" star in Orion's Sword. APOD-042.mp4

As you zoom deeper into the clouds, the story shifts from destruction to birth. Tucked away in the dark, dusty pillars are —protoplanetary disks. These are infant solar systems, just like ours was 4.5 billion years ago. Within these tiny smudges of dust, gravity is pulling together the rocks and gas that will one day become planets, perhaps even oceans and forests. The story begins in the , a quartet