NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has delivered a spectacular image revealing the birth of new stars in the Orion galaxy, a famous constellation visible in winter from the northern hemisphere. They are the result of shockwaves that occurred 3 million years ago when a massive star exploded.

The Orion constellation, also called The Hunter, is one of the largest and best-known in the sky. Located 1,300 light-years away, the region of space photographed by Spitzer is called Barnard 30 and sits on the right side of Orion's head, just north of the massive star Lambda Orionis.

"When we decided to study this region, it was barely known, despite the fact that its properties made it a nice target. Our aim was to carry out a comprehensive study of the region's different properties," said David Barrado y Navascués, of the Laboratorio de Astrofísica Espacial y Física Fundamental in Madrid, Spain, who led the Spitzer observations. "We now know, thanks to Spitzer, that there is a large population of low-mass stars and brown dwarfs [or failed stars]," he added.

On the infrared image, a bright and clear cosmic cloud can be seen, with organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons featured as wisps of green. Dust particles warmed by the newly formed stars are orange-red, and the reddish-pink dots at the top are the youngest stars embedded in a cocoon of cosmic gas and dust. Other Milky Way stars from the background can also be seen as blue spots.

"I found the original black and white science images breathtaking, fascinating," said Barrado y Navascués. " From the aesthetical point of view, [the image] is beautiful, it catches the eye. From the astronomical point of view, it has everything an astronomer wants - high- and low-mass stars, brown dwarfs and a dark dust cloud. It is a gift from nature."