Free Astronomy Magazine May-June 2025

8 MAY-JUNE 2025 ASTRO PUBLISHING by ESO − Juan Carlos Muñoz Mateos Stunning 80-million-pixel ESO image of RCW 38 T he European Southern Obser- vatory (ESO) has released a stunning 80 million-pixel im- age of the star cluster RCW 38, as captured by ESO’s Visible and In- frared Survey Telescope for Astron- omy (VISTA), operating in Chile’s Atacama Desert. Meet the colourful extravaganza of the RCW 38 stellar nursery, located some 5500 light-years away from us, in the constellation Vela. With its bright streaks and swirls, this birthplace of stars is not afraid to flaunt its colours. From the vivid pink of gas clouds to the multi- coloured dots, which are young stars, this image has it all.