Photograph
SH2-284
An astrophotograph of the emission nebula SH2-284, with its bright core surrounded by red and blue clouds of gas.
Beyond the frame
The vast luminous cavity at the centre is not empty space. It contains the young star cluster Dolidze 25, whose powerful radiation is reshaping the surrounding clouds of gas and dust. As the nebula expands, its denser edges resist for longer, forming curved walls and dark silhouettes — regions where the birth of a new generation of stars may already be beginning.