A battle is raging between darkness and light in the constellation Circinus, and a new image from the National Science Foundation's Dark Energy Camera captures a key turning point in the cosmic campaign.
Known as the Circinus West molecular cloud, the ominous black structure at the center of the image is a vast conglomeration of star-forming gas located in Circinus, the compass constellation, about 2,500 light-years from Earth. Objects like these are sometimes known as "dark nebulae" because they are so dense with gas and dust that light cannot penetrate them.
