NGC 2467, Skull and Cross Bones Nebula

NGC 2467, Skull and Cross Bones Nebula, A colorful star-forming region is featured in this image.  In the central cauldron at the lower right is a combination of huge clouds of gas and dust are sprinkled with bright blue, hot young stars. In addition, strangely shaped dust clouds, resembling spilled liquids, are silhouetted against a colorful background of glowing gas. Like the familiar Orion Nebula, NGC 2467 is a huge cloud of gas — mostly hydrogen — that serves as an incubator for new stars. Surrounding the cauldron are clouds of gas and dust and various clusters of stars. NGC 2467 lies in the southern constellation Puppis and is 4400 light years distant. It is a about the size of the full moon in the sky. There is some resemblance to the TriFid Nebula, Messier 20. The image is a true color image with the addition of narrowband Hydrogen emission and includes 64 images taken over 21 hours.