Top Stories Photos - AP

This image provided Saturday Dec. 12, 2009 by the European Southern Observatory shows the first released image from the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy, VISTA, of the Flame Nebula, a spectacular star-forming cloud of gas and dust in the familiar constellation of Orion (the Hunter) and its surroundings. In visible light the core of the object is hidden behind thick clouds of dust, but the VISTA image, taken at infrared wavelengths, can penetrate the murk and reveal the cluster of hot young stars hidden within. The wide field of view of the VISTA camera also captures the glow of the Flame Nebula and the ghostly form of the famous Horsehead Nebula.