A giant stellar nursery lies just 4500 light-years away. But the complex of brilliant stars and star-making materials is hidden – veiled by clouds of dust.

Cygnus X spans more than 600 light-years. It contains enough material to give birth to millions of stars as massive as the Sun. And it’s already spawned several thousand stars that are many times as massive as the Sun, and thousands of times brighter.

Astronomers study the region at wavelengths that shine through the dust. They reveal a complex web of ribbons, bubbles, rings, and pillars. They form several interlinked regions of starbirth.

A cluster of massive newborn stars is near the middle of the complex. They produce radiation and powerful “winds” that push and erode the surrounding gas and dust. That can stop the process of star formation. But it can also trigger the birth of new stars as it squeezes the gas and dust.

Especially heavy stars blow big bubbles in the gas. They also shape dense regions into pillars that can span dozens of light-years.

Cygnus X probably has been forming stars for the past 10 million years or so. But it’s just getting started – it’s likely to form tens of thousands more stars.

Cygnus X is in Cygnus, the swan, which is high in the east at nightfall. The complex is hidden behind dark clouds that run from the bright star Deneb, the swan’s tail, to Sadr, at the intersection of its long body and graceful wings.

Script by Damond Benningfield