Flight through the Tarantula Nebula

This Ultra HD video shows a flight through the Tarantula Nebula, a star formation region located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a companion of the Milky Way.

More than 800 000 stars and protostars are embedded in this gigantic stellar nursery. In addition to the stars the nebula contains several supernova remnants, indicators that the most massive stars of the cluster already exploded. The nebula is indedd one of the largest and most active star formation regions in the Local Group. Its high activity can be explained due to its position on the leading edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud, where ram pressure stripping occurs and the interstellar medium in the nebula is compressed. In addition it is probably also fed by gas, which was stripped off from the Small Magellanic Cloud.

In 1987 the Tarantula Nebula became the center of attention of the astronomic society as within the the nebula a supernova exploded. It was the closest supernova to Earth since 1604.