Lupus cloud complex viewed by Herschel and Planck

This image shows a portion of the Lupus cloud complex based on a combination of data from ESA’s Herschel and Planck space telescopes. The bright areas in the picture shows the emission by interstellar dust grains in three different wavelengths observed by Herschel (250, 350, and 500 microns) and the lines crossing the image in a ‘drapery pattern’ represent the magnetic field orientation (based on the Planck data.) 

This cloud complex, which contains four main star-forming regions, lies in the constellation of Scorpius. The Lupus clouds form one of the largest regions where low-mass stars form, in terms of its angular extent across the sky.

Shown here is Lupus I, which is thought to be the youngest of the clouds. As such, it has sparse star formation compared to Lupus III (not shown), which is a dense region with rampant star formation and is the most evolved of the Lupus clouds. Lupus I contains B228, also known as the Dark Wolf nebula, which is the long filament visible in the picture.