Star-Forming Region in Galaxy NGC 2366

Clusters of stars and a fishhook-shaped cloud of luminescent gases glow brilliantly in NGC 2363, a giant star-forming region in the Magellanic galaxy NGC 2366.

The brightest star visible on this image (at the tip of the fishhook) is a rare class called an erupting Luminous Blue Variable (LBV). This monstrous star (30 to 60 times as massive as the Sun) is in a very unstable, eruptive phase of its life.