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Credit & Copyright: Bastien Foucher
Explanation:
Chaos reigns in the Carina Nebula where massive stars form and die.
Striking and detailed,
this close-up of a portion of the famous nebula is a combination of light emitted
by
hydrogen (shown in red) and
oxygen (shown in
blue).
Dramatic dark dust knots
and complex features revealed are
sculpted by the
winds
and radiation of Carina's massive and
energetic stars.
One iconic feature of the
Carina Nebula
is the dark V-shaped dust lane
that occurs in the top half of the image.
The Carina Nebula spans about 200
light years, lies about 7,500 light years distant,
and is visible with binoculars toward the
southern constellation
of Carina.
In a
billion years after the dust settles -- or is destroyed, and the gas dissipates
-- or
gravitationally condenses, then only the
stars will remain -- but
not
even the brightest ones.
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A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: carina nebula - star formation
Publications with words: carina nebula - star formation
See also: