Herschel’s view of the Galactic Plane

This video shows a wealth of bright sources, wispy filaments and bubbling nebulas against the background of diffuse gas and dust, marking the spots where stars are being born in the Galaxy. The video was compiled by stitching together several hundred hours of Herschel observations obtained as part of the Herschel infrared Galactic Plane Survey. It spans a vast portion – almost 40% – of the plane of the Milky Way, where most of the stars in the Galaxy form and reside. Shaped as a disc, our Galaxy has a dia