A Myriad Stars
This close-up of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a nearby galaxy located a mere 168,000 light years away, shows sheets of glowing (hot) gas and some dark patches of cool interstellar molecular clouds (brownish). It also gives an impression of the vast numbers of stars that inhabit a galaxy. They next time you get the increasingly rare chance to get away from urban and suburban light pollution, take a good look at the Milky Way to get a similarly overwhelming impression of the vast number of stars in a single galaxy. This image spans a distance of 130 light years and shows more than 10,000 stars. For comparison, if the sun were among these stars, it would be among the faintest visible. Conclusion: There are lots and lots of stars available to host possible planets and solar systems!
Image credit: Hubble Space Telescope; The main source for HST images and explanations is HubbleSite.org.
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