ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) at Paranal Observatory in Chile has taken a spectacular infrared image of the Carina Nebula, a huge star-formation region in the constellation of Carina.
This image of the Carina Nebula reveals the dynamic cloud of interstellar matter and thinly spread gas and dust as never before; the massive stars in the interior of this cosmic bubble emit intense radiation that causes the surrounding gas to glow; by contrast, other regions of the nebula contain dark pillars of dust cloaking newborn stars. Image credit: ESO / J. Emerson / M. Irwin / J. Lewis.
The Carina Nebula, also known as NGC 3372 and Caldwell 92, is located an estimated 7,500 light-years away.
Discovered in the 1750s by French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, this object is a dynamic, evolving cloud of thinly spread interstellar gas and dust.
The massive stars in its interior emit intense radiation that causes the surrounding gas to glow. By contrast, other regions contain dark pillars of dust cloaking newborn stars.
There’s a battle raging between stars and dust in the nebula, and the newly-formed stars are winning — they produce high-energy radiation and stellar winds which evaporate and disperse the dusty stellar nurseries in which they formed.
Spanning over 300 light-years, the Carina Nebula is one of the Milky Way Galaxy’s largest star-forming regions and is easily visible to the unaided eye under dark skies.
One of the nebula’s most famous denizens is the unstable, behemoth double-star system Eta Carinae.
Among the largest and brightest star systems in the Milky Way, this stellar duo is known for its spectacular, periodic outbursts.
The larger of the pair is an enormous 90 solar masses, while its smaller companion is 30 solar masses. The more massive star is destined to explode soon as a supernova.
Eta Carinae can be seen in this VISTA image as part of the bright patch of light just above the point of the ‘V’ shape made by the dust clouds.
Directly to the right of Eta Carinae is the Keyhole Nebula — a small, dense cloud of cold molecules and gas within the Carina Nebula — which hosts several massive stars.
