APEX kept a close eye on cold clouds with temperatures just above absolute zero, because they typically give birth to new stars. As Timea Csengeri from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy said, "ATLASGAL provides exciting insights into where the next generation of high-mass stars and clusters form."

While the project is tied more closely to the APEX telescope, the images the European Southern Observatory released wouldn't be complete with other observatories' contributions. The wispy red curtains behind the brighter blotches were captured by the European Space Agency's Planck satellite. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, on the other hand, contributed the blue background, which was taken in shorter infrared wavelengths. The final product gives us a comprehensive look of the regions where we'll most likely find young stars fresh out of the galactic womb.