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Hubble Captures Spectacular “Landscape” in the Carina Nebula
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captured this billowing cloud of cold interstellar gas and dust rising from a tempestuous stellar nursery located in the Carina Nebula, 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. This pillar of dust and gas serves as an incubator for new stars and is teeming with new star-forming activity.
Hot, young stars erode and sculpt the clouds into this fantasy landscape by sending out thick stellar winds and scorching ultraviolet radiation. The low-density regions of the nebula are shredded while the denser parts resist erosion and remain as thick pillars. In the dark, cold interiors of these columns new stars continue to form.
In the process of star formation, a disk around the proto-star slowly accretes onto the star's surface. Part of the material is ejected along jets perpendicular to the accretion disk. The jets have speeds of several hundreds of miles per second. As these jets plow into the surround nebula, they create small, glowing patches of nebulosity, called Herbig-Haro (HH) objects.
Long streamers of gas can be seen shooting in opposite directions off the pedestal on the upper right-hand side of the image. Another pair of jets is visible in a peak near the top-center of the image. These jets (known as HH 901 and HH 902, respectively) are common signatures of the births of new stars.
This image celebrates the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch and deployment into an orbit around Earth. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 observed the pillar on Feb. 1-2, 2010. The colors in this composite image correspond to the glow of oxygen (blue), hydrogen and nitrogen (green), and sulfur (red).
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.10h 44m 5.25s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-59° 29' 44.99"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Carina
- DistanceDistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.This image was created from HST data from proposal 12050: M. Livio, K. Noll, M. Mutchler, Z. Levay, L. Frattare, W. Januszewski, C. Christian, and T. Borders (Hubble 20th Anniversary Team, STScI). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>WFC3/UVIS
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.February 1-2, 2010, Exposure Time: 9.3 hours
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F673N ([S II]), F657N (H-alpha+[N II]), and F502N ([O III])
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.HH 901 and HH 902 in the Carina Nebula
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Carina Nebula Star-forming Pillars and Herbig-Haro Objects with Jets
- Release DateApril 22, 2010
- Science ReleaseStarry-Eyed Hubble Celebrates 20 Years of Awe and Discovery
- CreditsNASA, ESA, Hubble 20th Anniversary Team, Mario Livio (STScI)
This image is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Each filter was used to sample a narrow wavelength range over a broad range of the visible colors. The composite color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Red: F673N ([S II]) Green: F657N (H-alpha+[N II]) Blue: F502N ([O III])
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, MD
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
