Telescope image reveals swirling star-forming cloud and ancient cluster in striking detail

A new image from the Dark Energy Camera at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory showcases the Corona Australis Molecular Cloud, a nearby region of active star formation located 430 light-years away. The portrait captures glowing reflection and emission nebulae, dark dust lanes, and the Chandelier Cluster, alongside a distant globular cluster containing some of the universe's oldest stars. The 570-megapixel instrument's wide field allowed astronomers to combine these contrasting celestial features in a single frame.