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Universe of the Hubble Space Telescope 2001 Calendar

The Tarantula Nebula or NGC 2070 is a diffuse cloud of glowing gas and dust located in the Large Magellanic Cloud or LMC. Originally cataloged as a star 30 Doradus, it was first recognized as a gaseous nebula by the French astronomer Abbe Nicholas Louis de la Caille (1713­­1762) in 1751. The Tarantula Nebula hosts the most active region of star formation in the local universe, which is visible as the bright cluster of stars in the lower right corner of the image. Many of the massive stars in this cluster are old enough to have formed supernovae, which have blasted material back into the surrounding nebula at high speeds. The nebula is powered by dozens of supergiant stars clustered at its center.