Lupus 4, a spider-shaped blob of gas and dust, blots out
background stars like a dark cloud on a moonless night in this intriguing new
image. Although gloomy for now, dense pockets of material within clouds such as
Lupus 4 are where new stars form and where they will later burst into radiant
life. The Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La
Silla Observatory in Chile captured this new picture.