The Carina Nebula is situated an estimated 7 500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina, that lies at the keel of the ship Argo Navis. This fifty light-year-wide view gives us a peek into star formation as it commonly occurs along the dense spiral arms of a galaxy.

It is a mosaic of 48 frames taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken at the wavelength of ionised hydrogen to which colour information obtained by the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile was added. Red corresponds to sulphur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.

Credits: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (UC Berkeley) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

The close-up in the right panel, shows evidence for stars being born inside the columns. A jet of gas from a newborn star inside the column shoots out in both directions into the surrounding gas. A similar jet can be seen at the bottom of the image. The stellar jets are a signature for the birth of a star.

It is a mosaic of 48 frames taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken at the wavelength of ionised hydrogen to which colour information obtained by the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile was added. Red corresponds to sulphur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.

Credits: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (UC Berkeley) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

The glowing edges of some of these objects indicate that they are being ‘photoionized’ by the hottest stars in the cluster. Photoionisation is a process in which electromagnetic radiation (photons) rips away electrons from neutral atoms and molecules. It has been hypothesized that stars may form inside such dusty cocoons.

Credits: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (UC Berkeley) and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)