Telescope Sights Celestial Version of Puff, the Magic Dragon

If you think the picture in the lower half of the above photo resembles the shape of a dragon, you're not alone.

The multi-colored cloud of dust was captured recently by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. When viewed in visible light, the "dragon" seems to fade away into the clouds -- leading astronomers at NASA to draw the analogy to Puff, the Magic Dragon, from the Peter, Paul and Mary song by the same name.

In reality, the dark cloud called M17 SWex, is believed to be forming stars at a very rapid clip. NASA says that the clouds and gas are now passing though the Sagittarius spiral arm of the Milky Way, creating a galactic "domino effect" along the way. "Over time, this area will flare up like the bright M17 nebula, glowing in the light of young massive stars. An older burst of star formation blew the bubble seen in the region to the far left, called M17 EB," NASA said in a release.

Here's a fuller version of the stars forming around the M17 nebula.