So is it even remotely possible that star systems could have already formed in this cloud? Or is it still in a violent stage that planet formation is unlikely?
I just had a weird thought of being part of an alien species that evolved on a planet somewhere within this cloud, and what it would look like from within. Or, being on a planet close by (but way outside the nebula) so that the nebula would rise and set in the sky as a HUGE constellation. That would be awesome.