... Stars are sometimes born in the midst of chaos. About 3 million years ago in the nearby galaxy M33, a large cloud of gas spawned dense internal knots which gravitationally collapsed to form stars. ... The Sun is bright, so bright that it overwhelms the light from other stars even for most satellite-borne telescopes. ... But if you look closely at the center of the above photograph, you will see a whole spiral galaxy behind the field of stars. ... Comet Hale-Bopp is That Bright . ...