These two dazzling clusters of stars, called NGC 1850, are found in one of our neighboring galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud. The photo's centerpiece is a young, "globular-like" star cluster -- a type of object unknown in our own Milky Way Galaxy. The smaller second cluster is below and to the right of the main cluster. The stars are surrounded by a filigree pattern of diffuse gas [left], which scientists believe was created by the explosion of massive stars.

Image: NASA, ESA, and Martino Romaniello (European Southern Observatory, Germany);
Acknowledgments: The image processing for this image was done by Martino Romaniello, Richard Hook, Bob Fosbury and the Hubble European Space Agency Information Center.

• European Space Agency