Stars are born in the mysterious depths of cosmic clouds known as nebulae, and now, thanks to an eye-catching new image from the Dark Energy Camera in Chile, we're peeling back the layers of the Chamaeleon I dark cloud—the nearest stellar nursery to our solar system.

At first glance, the Chamaeleon I may seem foreboding with its dark, swirling clouds, but don’t be fooled. Hidden within this interstellar shroud are shimmering pockets of light emerging from newly formed stars. Roughly 2 billion years old, Chamaeleon I is a bustling cradle for around 200 to 300 stars.

These youthful stars are igniting three stunning nebulae: the bright Cederblad 110 at the top, the unique C-shaped Cederblad 111 in the center, and the vibrant orange hues of the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula below. In astronomy, the term 'nebula' originally described any fuzzy object in the sky that wasn’t a star or planet. It encompasses everything from the eerie shells of gas around dying stars to dazzling reflection nebulae like these.

Unlike the famous Orion Nebula, which shines brightly from its own emitted light, these reflection nebulae glow thanks to the starlight illuminating them.

Chamaeleon I is just a segment of the extensive Chamaeleon Cloud Complex, which was beautifully captured by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2022. This complex contains smaller clouds known as Chamaeleon II and III, but Chamaeleon I is a frequent star in the spotlight, with its recent images taken by the James Webb Space Telescope just this year.

What sets this latest image apart is its astonishing detail. DECam, equipped with a sprawling 570-megapixel sensor on the National Science Foundation’s Vctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope, has revealed an enigmatic red trail of nebulosity connecting Cederblad 110 and Cederblad 111. This mesmerizing formation, known as Herbig-Haro objects, showcases the spectacular interplay of gases being expelled by young stars as they clash with slower-moving clouds, resulting in a cosmic dance of creation.