February also saw the release of this spectacular image from the VLT Survey Telescope, showing the Cat’s Paw Nebula (upper right) and the Lobster Nebula (lower left). These are regions of active star formation where the hot young stars are causing the surrounding hydrogen gas to glow red. The very rich field of view also includes dark clouds of dust. With around two billion pixels this is one of the largest images ever released by ESO. Note that the circular features in the image around bright stars are not real; they are due to reflections within the optics of the telescope and camera.

Photograph: ESO