Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (U. California, Berkeley) et al., and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)Available formats:
- 1800 x 1200 pixels (JPG, 1.4 MB)
- 2100 x 1500 pixels (JPG, 1.9 MB)
- 3000 x 2400 pixels (JPG, 3.9 MB)
- 6000 x 4800 pixels (JPG, 13.7 MB)
What dark forms lurk in the mists of the Carina Nebula? These ominous figures are actually molecular clouds, knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque. In comparison, however, these clouds are typically much less dense than Earth's atmosphere.
This image, released for Hubble's 17th anniversary, shows a region of star birth and death in the Carina Nebula. The nebula contains at least a dozen brilliant stars that are 50 to 100 times the mass of our Sun, and the massive, unstable star Eta Carinae. The entire Carina Nebula spans more than 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina.
NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebula. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically. Wide-field annotated and zoomable versions of the larger image composite are also available.
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