A new image from the Gemini Observatory on Mauna Kea shows the dramatic and sometimes violent birth of stars.

It also demonstrates the capabilities of new filters available with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope, said observatory spokesman Peter Michaud.

A stellar nursery with glowing gas and light-scattering dust is shown in an hourglass-shaped nebula, known as Sharpless 2-106, in the new image.

“;The material shrouds a natal high-mass star thought to be mostly responsible for the hourglass shape of the nebula due to high-speed winds (more than 125 miles per second) which eject material from the forming star deep within,”; Michaud reported.

Many substellar objects appear to be forming within the cloud and could someday result in a cluster of 50 to 150 stars in this region, he said.

The nebula is about 2,000 light-years away in the direction of the Cygnus constellation, Michaud said, noting its central star is possibly up to 15 times the mass of Earth's sun.

“;The star's formation likely began no more than 100,000 yeas ago, and eventually its light will break free of the enveloping cloud as it begins the relatively short life of a massive star,”; he said.