The complex structure of the nebula is brightest in space

The latest ESO image reveals incredible detail in the complex structure of one of the largest and brightest nebula in the sky, the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), where strong winds and radiation from many big stars are destroying clouds of gas and dust, where stars are born.

This image shows the formality of this admiring space, with young star clusters, large gas and dust nebulae, dust columns, adorned with one of the most beautiful stars in the universe. This photo was taken with a combination of 6 filters from Wide Field Imager (WFI), mounted on the ESO / MPG 2.2m telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile.

The Carina Nebula is located 7500 light-years away in the constellation of the same name (Carina). Stretching for about 100 light-years, it is four times larger than the famous Orion Nebula and much brighter. This is a region of dense star formation with dark dust lines that divide the glowing nebula gas surrounding many star clusters.

The glow of the Carina Nebula is mainly from hydrogen gas heated from intense radiation of stars in the early period. The interaction between hydrogen and ultraviolet light forms red and purple light. This nebula contains many stars with at least 50 to 100 times the mass of the sun. Such stars have a very short lifespan, only a few million years, just a blink of an eye when compared to the sun's predicted life span of 10 billion years.

Multicolored image of the Carina Nebula, showing intricate details in stars and dust in this area. Some famous astronomical objects can be seen from this image: the lower left of the picture is one of the most beautiful stars in the universe, Eta Carinae, with the Keyhole Nebula located next to it. A series of young and bright stars above and to the right of Eta Carinae is a star cluster. North above and East on the left. The range of the image is 0.55 x 0.55 degrees, covering an area of ​​144 x 144 light years. (Photo: Southern European Observatory - ESO).

One of the most impressive stars, Eta Carinae, was also discovered in the nebula. It is one of the largest stars in the Milky Way, 100 times the mass of the sun and 4 million times brighter, making it the brightest star ever known. Eta Carinae is very unstable and often produces violent explosions, most notably the fake supernova event in 1842.

In just a few years, Eta Carinae became the second brightest star in the sky and created visible light equivalent to a supernova explosion (the last writhing before a star's death), but it still exist. Eta Carinae is also said to have a companion star orbiting it for 5.54 years , in an elliptical orbit. Both stars have strong winds, colliding and leading to interesting phenomena. In mid-January 2009, the companion star was closest to Eta Carinae. This event, which can provide new insights into the wind structure of big stars, has always been monitored by devices on some ESO telescopes.