Snake Bearer

In the image above, we can see Ophiuchus or the Serpent Bearer.

"This star-forming region is a few million years old," says Van der Marel. "These stars are still growing, and planets are forming around them. A major part of my research focuses on this region."

The telescope's different filters create different colors, Van der Marel explains. "Each filter is sensitive to a different type of material, which emits a different kind of light. The red you can see is hot hydrogen. When a star is formed, energy shoots in two directions, pushing gas from the surrounding cloud outwards. These are the red jets you can see in the image."

We can also see some white dots of light. "These are young stars," says Van der Marel.

We also see a large arch.

Van der Marel continues, "That is the outermost part of a cavity caused by a young massive star, S1, which is in the center of that cavity. S1 is more than 20 times more massive than our sun. Stars like this release so much energy that they heat all the material around them to extreme temperatures, causing chemical reactions. This creates the cavity you can see, with a yellow rim of tiny dust particles."