Hot Stars in the Rosette Nebula

Winds and radiation from massive hot stars in the Rosette
Nebula have cleared the natal gas and dust from the center
of the nearby star-forming region. They also pose a danger
to planet forming disks around young, cooler stars in the
neighborhood. This Spitzer Space Telescope infrared image
of dust clouds near the Rosette's central region, shows the
cleared-out cavity. The view spans about 45 light-years at
the the nebula's estimated distance of 5,200 light-years.