14 DAY TRIAL // An impressive view of the NGC 3324 stellar nursery was just released by astronomers at the European Southern Observatory (ESO). If you look close enough, it may consider the bright-blue area to the left as the mouth of a man who keeps his head bowed, and his eyes closed.
Another face can be observed in the outline of the same gas cloud. The nose is clearly visible to the right, as a bump in the contours, but the eyes are not delimited in any way.
This impressive view was collected in ultraviolet wavelengths by the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope's Wide Field Imager (WFI) instrument. The rich colors are caused by gas that has been heated by UV radiations. The hollows visible inside the nebula were created by these radiations as well.
The entire structure is located about 7,500 light-years away from Earth, which is relatively close in astronomical terms. It borders the chaotic Carina Nebula, and contains areas of intense stellar formation that constantly produce blue stars.