A new image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows infant stars "hatching" in the head of Orion, the famous hunter constellation visible from northern hemispheres during winter nights. Astronomers suspect that shockwaves from a 3-million-year-old explosion of a massive star may have initiated this newfound birth. The region featured in the Spitzer image is called Barnard 30. It is located approximately 1,300 light-years away and sits on the right side of Orion's head, just north of the massive star Lambda Orionis.
Expand (140kb, 1024 x 768) Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Barrado y Navascués (LAEFF-INTA)
Position (J2000): RA: 05h30m16.80s Dec: 12d46m12.00s