The nebula M78 takes center stage in this image taken with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, while the stars powering the bright ...

Because so few background stars populate the field of view, astronomers believe M78 sits within a huge, dark cloud that eventually will form stars. Oh, and don’t use any nebular or deep-sky ...

Two bright stars, HD 38563A and HD 38563B, are the main powerhouses behind Messier 78. The nebula is, however, home to many more stars, including a collection of about 45 young, low mass stars.