infrared image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers refer to as a 'snake' (upper left) and its surrounding
infrared image from NASA Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers refer to as a 'snake' (upper left) and its surrounding stormy environment. The object is the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens of solar systems. The blue dots are foreground stars. The red ball at the bottom left is a 'supernova remnant,' the remains of massive star that died in a fiery blast. Astronomers speculate that radiation and winds from the star before it died, in addition to a shock wave created when it exploded, might have played a role in creating the snake. The snake is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius. T
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Photo credit: © World History Archive / Alamy / Afripics
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