A new infrared imager has cut through cosmic dust clouds to reveal a star cluster 5,500 light years away in stunning detail.
Astronomers were only testing the HAWK-I after attaching it to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the European Southern Observatory in Chile's Atacama desert but were amazed by the results.
Previous attempts to capture the hundreds of stars in the cluster RCW38 were met with murky results due to cosmic dust and gas obscuring the shot.
But the success of the experiment means that shrouded areas of the galaxy will emerge from the gloom to be revealed in unprecedented detail.
Lead researcher, Dr Koraljka Muzic from the University of Lisbon, said: "The central area of RCW 38 is visible here as a bright, blue-tinted region, an area inhabited by numerous very young stars and protostars that are still in the process of forming.
"The intense radiation pouring out from these newly born stars causes the surrounding gas to glow brightly.
"This is in stark contrast to the streams of cooler cosmic dust winding through the region, which glow gently in dark shades of red and orange.
"The contrast creates this spectacular scene -- a piece of celestial artwork."
She added: "By gazing into infrared wavelengths, HAWK-I can examine dust-shrouded star clusters like RCW 38, providing an unparalleled view of the stars forming within.
"This cluster contains hundreds of young, hot, massive stars, and lies some 5500 light-years away in the constellation of Vela (The Sails).
"Previous images of this region taken in optical wavelengths are strikingly different. Optical images appear emptier of stars due to dust and gas blocking our view of the cluster.
"Observations in the infrared, however, allow us to peer through the dust that obscures the view in the optical and delve into the heart of this star cluster.
"HAWK-I makes use of four laser beams projected into the night sky, which act as artificial reference stars, used to correct for the effects of atmospheric turbulence and provide a sharper image."
The picture was published in in ESO's quarterly journal The Messenger.
ESO is the foremost intergovernmental astronomy organisation in Europe and the world's most productive astronomical observatory.
ESO provides state-of-the-art research facilities to astronomers and is supported by Austria, Belgium, Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, along with the host state of Chile.
Several other countries have expressed an interest in membership.
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