Figure 11-8

A Cluster of Protostars More than 300 protostars (yellow circles) were observed in the infrared by the Spitzer Space Telescope. This cluster of newly forming stars is 13,700 light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The nebula, some of whose gas is being converted into stars, is called RCW 49 and contains more than 2200 stars and protostars. Most of the interior of this nebula is hidden from our eyes by the dust it contains.