NASA image release April 22, 2010
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).
Object Names: HH 901, HH 902
Image Type: Astronomical
Credit: NASA, ESA, and M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI)
To read learn more about this image go to: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/hubble20th-img....
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is home to the nation's largest organization of combined scientists, engineers and technologists that build spacecraft, instruments and new technology to study the Earth, the sun, our solar system, and the universe.
placenamehere, Taffy Cat, and 124 other people added this photo to their favorites.
![3-D Trip into the Carina Nebula [HD Video]](http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4044/4545213271_cdf2cfa10c_s.jpg)
![Hubble 20th Anniversary Carina Nebula Video (Zoom) [HD Video]](http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4057/4545212891_c06d4a7c72_s.jpg)
Σταύρος 38 months ago | reply
really cool colors !
TranceVelebit 38 months ago | reply
Amazing!
Bruce Lemons 38 months ago | reply
These are so frigging awesome. You rock for putting all this cool stuff up mystery NASA science person(s).
nna:2006 38 months ago | reply
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Art-Pix, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
FUED 28 38 months ago | reply
a star is born ...
ouistitis 38 months ago | reply
Wonderful !
Thank you for sharing. Ouistitis
Camille Nedjar 38 months ago | reply
wow ! jute fantastique !
p.Gordon 36 months ago | reply
Simply wonderous in its profound beauty.
Voloreale 36 months ago | reply
Spettacolare!
homesteadbound 19 months ago | reply
I used this picture in an article I wrote about nebulae:
homesteadbound.hubpages.com/hub/What-is-a-Nebula-Common-N...
Thanks for making such a great picture available.
aahmadazmifaiz 8 months ago | reply
terbaek!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!