Multiple generations of stars in the Tarantula Nebula

The star cluster Hodge 301 is an old cluster. Many of its stars have already exploded as supernovae. The filaments in the upper left corner have been compressed by the explosions of these stars. Elsewhere in the picture news stars are being born.

In the most active starburst region in the local universe lies a cluster of brilliant, massive stars, known to astronomers as Hodge 301.

Hodge 301, seen in the lower right hand corner of this image, lives inside the Tarantula Nebula in our galactic neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud.