Using the Gemini South telescope, astronomers from NSF’s NOIRLab have imaged a beautiful nebula around the young open cluster NGC 2040.

NGC 2040 is located approximately 160,000 light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Dorado.

Also known as CAL 60 or ESO 56-164, the cluster resides within the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite dwarf galaxy of the Milky Way.

NGC 2040 is a so-called OB association, a stellar group that usually contains 10-100 stars of type O and B.

“Stars of the O and B spectral types lead short lives of only a few million years, during which they burn very hot before exploding as supernovae,” the NOIRLab astronomers said in a statement.

“The energy released by the explosions of these massive stars feeds the formation of NGC 2040’s structure, while the expelled material seeds the growth of the next generation of stars.”

It is thought that most of the stars in our Galaxy were born in OB associations similar to NGC 2040.

“NGC 2040 is part of a massive structure of interstellar gas known as LH 88, which is one of the largest active star-forming regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud,” the astronomers said.

“Over the next million years thousands of new stars will be born in the region.”

“When the O and B stars end their lives as supernovae they will enrich the cluster with elements such as carbon, oxygen, and iron,” they said.

“Together with the bountiful hydrogen of the cluster, these elements provide the necessary ingredients for the formation of new stars, planets, and perhaps even life.”

“The bright stars seen in the image are widely separated, but their motions through space are similar, indicating that they have a common origin.”

“The layered nebulous structures in LH 88 are the remnants of stars that have already died.”

“The delicate leaves of the rose were formed by both the shockwaves from supernovae and the stellar winds of the O and B stars.”