Panning across the Lupus 3 star-forming region

This pan video takes a close look at the spectacular Lupus 3 star-forming region. A dark cloud of cosmic dust snakes across the picture, illuminated by the brilliant light of new stars. This dense cloud is a star-forming region called Lupus 3, where dazzlingly hot stars are born from collapsing masses of gas and dust. This image was created from images taken using the VLT Survey Telescope and the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope and is the most detailed image taken so far of this region.