Fact Sheet
Dusty Skies
Hundreds of newborn stars shine through the "baby blanket" of dust that surrounds them in this infrared image from Spizter Space Telescope. Vast clouds of dust and gas collapsed to give birth to the stars in a formation known as Rho Ophiuchi, which is about 400 light-years away. The dust blocks the view of the stars in optical wavelengths, but the infrared shines through the thick layer of dust. [NASA/JPL-Caltech/Harvard-Smithsonian CfA]
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