Nasa has revealed a 'festival of lights' sparkling around the Barnard 3 dust cloud.
The 'stellar nursery' where stars are born, which is also known as IRAS Ring 6159.6-18.5, is pictured sparking in green and red clouds.
Nasa says the image, captured by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, features a green ring made of warm dust "very similar to smog found here on Earth".
The red cloud in the centre of the image is made of metallic, cooler dust, while the bright spot at its center is much hotter and luminous.
Nasa said: "The bright greenish-yellow region left of center is similar to the ring, though more dense. The bluish-white stars scattered throughout are stars located both in front of, and behind, the nebula."
Located near the boundary between the constellations of Perseus and Taurus, the dust cloud is a mere 1,000 light-years away, and is part of the Milky Way galaxy in which we live.
