Details in a cosmic pinnacle
This is a series of close-up views of the complex gas structures in a small portion of the Carina Nebula. The nebula is a cold cloud of predominantly hydrogen gas. It is laced with dust, which makes the cloud opaque. The cloud is being eroded by a gusher of ultraviolet light from young stars in the region. They sculpt a variety of fantasy shapes, many forming tadpole-like structures. In some frames, smaller pieces of nebulosity can be seen freely drifting, such as the structure, four trillion kilometres long, at upper right. The most striking feature is a horizontal jet 5.5 trillion kilometres long in the upper left frame. It is being blasted into space by a young star hidden in the tip of the pillar-like structure. A bowshock has formed near the tip of the jet.
Credit:NASA, ESA, M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
About the Image
Id: | heic1007d |
Type: | Collage |
Release date: | 23 April 2010, 10:00 |
Related releases: | heic1007 |
Size: | 1800 x 1200 px |
About the Object
Name: | Carina Nebula, HH 901, HH 902 |
Type: | Milky Way : Nebula Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Jet |
Distance: | 7500 light years |
Category: | Nebulae |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical Oiii | 502 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical H-alpha + Nii | 657 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical Sii | 673 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |