Hardcore X-Ray Death from Massive Binary Star System

You are looking right into the burning, hydrogen gas-shrouded heart of one of the biggest star nurseries that Earth astronomers have ever seen. This image was created by the European Organization for Astronomical Research (ESO), and shows part of the Gum 29 region, which researchers say is probably about 1-2 million years old (making it possibly younger than some of our hominid ancestors). Gum 29 is about 26,000 light years from Earth, at the edge of the Carina spiral arm of our Milky Way galaxy. And within its bright heart are two of the most massive stars we've ever seen, in a tight orbit around each other. Want to see that binary system up close? More »