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About This Image
These dense knots of cosmic dust and gas are absorbing light in the center of the nearby emission nebula and star-forming region, NGC 281. If Bok Globules can capture enough mass, they may create stars in their cores. Others, including perhaps these, will just dissipate over time.
Acknowledgment: P. McCullough (STScI)Learn more on the Hubble Heritage website Get supporting picture information including original images, caption and facts, and astronomer biographies. Learn more in NewsCenter HubbleSite's NewsCenter is the place to find the story behind this image, along with its original news release and all related images.