Close-up look at the region around the star cluster Messier 18

This video sequence takes a close look at a huge 615 megapixel image captured by the OmegaCAM camera attached to the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) located at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile. It shows the sky around the star cluster Messier 18. This small smattering of bright blue stars is the perfect cosmic laboratory in which to study the life and death of stars that formed together from the same massive cloud of gas and dust.