Mounted image 027: The Galactic starburst region NGC 3603

NGC 3603 is located in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way galaxy at a distance of about 20000 light-years). The line-of-sight to NGC 3603 is reasonably free of dust, allowing astronomers to peer into this region where stars smaller than the Sun manage to form despite the intense radiation of massive, scorching, blue-white stars in the vicinity.