The young stars, the most massive of which are bright blue , emit so much energy they are pushing out and dispersing the gas and dust that comprise this star forming nebula . Within only the past hundred thousand years, these stars have altered the bubble-like shape of the nebula and will likely destroy the nebula over the next few million years. Of particular interest is a bright region surrounded by a pink ring of dust and gas visible on the left of the above recently released picture by the Hubble Space Telescope . The center of this region is being evacuated by the wind of the brightest star in the nebula. A lane of cooler dust connects NGC 1748 to a larger more diffuse nebula seen on the right.
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