Sunday, July 31, 2022

The Cool Clouds of Carina | APEX Telescope

The Cool Clouds of Carina | APEX Telescope

Observations made with the APEX telescope in submillimeter-wavelength light at a wavelength of 870 µm reveal the cold dusty clouds from which stars form in the Carina Nebula. This site of violent star formation, which plays host to some of the highest-mass stars in our galaxy, is an ideal arena in which to study the interactions between these young stars and their parent molecular clouds.

The APEX observations, made with its LABOCA camera, are shown here in orange tones, combined with a visible light image from the Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory. The result is a dramatic, wide-field picture that provides a spectacular view of Carina’s star formation sites. The nebula contains stars equivalent to over 25,000 Suns, and the total mass of gas and dust clouds is that of about 140,000 Suns.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/APEX/T. Preibisch et al. (Submillimetre); N. Smith, University of Minnesota /NOAO / AURA / NSF (Optical)

Release Date: November 16, 2011


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Star #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #APEXTelescope #CerroTololoInteramericanObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Wolf–Rayet Star WR 22 in The Carina Nebula | ESO

The Wolf–Rayet Star WR 22 in The Carina Nebula | ESO

This image of part of the Carina Nebula was created from images taken through red, green and blue filters with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is centered on the unusual hot massive young star Wolf–Rayet (WR) 22, a member of the rare class of Wolf–Rayet stars. The field of view is 0.55 x 0.55 degrees, covering a 72 x 72 light-year region at the distance of the nebula.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: July 28, 2010


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #WolfRayet #WR22 #Star #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #Telescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

A Tour of The Carina Nebula (wide-field) | European Southern Observatory

A Tour of The Carina Nebula (wide-field) | European Southern Observatory


Color-composite image of the Carina Nebula, revealing exquisite details in the stars and dust of the region. Several well known astronomical objects can be seen in this wide field imageto the bottom left of the image is one of the most impressive binary stars in the Universe, Eta Carinae, with the famous Keyhole Nebula just adjacent to the star. The collection of very bright, young stars above and to the right of Eta Carinae is the open star cluster Trumpler 14. A second open star cluster, Collinder 228 is also seen in the image, just below Eta Carinae. The Carina Nebula also bears the NGC 3372 designation. On this image, North is up and East is to the left. The field of view is 0.55 x 0.55 degrees, covering a 72 x 72 light-year region at the distance of the nebula.

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: February 12, 2009


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Carina Nebula | VLT Survey Telescope

The Carina Nebula | VLT Survey Telescope

The spectacular star-forming Carina Nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory. This picture was taken with the help of Sebastián Piñera, President of Chile, during his visit to the observatory on June 5, 2012, and released on the occasion of the new telescope’s inauguration in Naples on December 6, 2012.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Acknowledgement: VPHAS+ Consortium / Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit

Release Date: December 6, 2012


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Stars and Dust in The Carina Nebula | ESO

Stars and Dust in The Carina Nebula | ESO

ESOcast 175 Light: The VISTA telescope has allowed us to peer through the hot gas and dark dust shrouding the spectacular Carina nebula to show us myriad stars, both newborn and in their death throes.

The ESOcast Light is a series of short videos bringing you the wonders of the Universe in bite-sized pieces.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Directed by: Nico Bartmann  

Editing: Nico Bartmann

Web and technical support: Mathias André and Raquel Yumi Shida

Written by: Ivana Kurecic and Calum Turner 

Music: tonelabs 

Footage and photos: ESO, G. Hüdepohl (atacamaphoto.com), DSS, N. Risinger (skysurvey.org), M. Kornmesser.  

Executive producer: Lars Lindberg Christensen

Duration: 1 minute, 15 seconds

Release Date: August 29, 2018


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

3D View of The Carina Nebula | ESO VISTA

3D View of The Carina Nebula | ESO VISTA

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) has allowed us to peer through the hot gas and dark dust shrouding the spectacular Carina Nebula to show us myriad stars, both newborn and in their death throes. This visualization shows a 3D conversion of images of the Carina Nebula.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO), M. Kornmesser

Duration: 30 seconds

Release Date: May 5, 2022


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VISTA #Telescope #Europe #STEM #Education #Visualization #3D #HD #Video

Zoom into The Carina Nebula | Hubble

Zoom into The Carina Nebula | Hubble

The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is approximately 8,500 light-years (2,600 pc) from Earth.

Credit: Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)

Duration: 23 seconds

Release Date: December 31, 2014


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education #HD #Video

The Heart of The Carina Nebula | SSO Europa Telescope

The Heart of The Carina Nebula | SSO Europa Telescope


This first light image from the Europa telescope at the SPECULOOS Southern Observatory (SSO) shows the heart of the Carina Nebula. The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) is a large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way galaxy. The nebula is approximately 8,500 light-years (2,600 pc) from Earth.

The SSO is installed at the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal Observatory in the vast Atacama Desert, Chile, and consists of four 1-meter planet-hunting telescopes. The project’s telescopes are named after Jupiter’s Galilean moons, and are neighbors of ESO's Very Large Telescope and VISTA. SPECULOOS will focus on detecting Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby ultra-cool stars and brown dwarfs.


Credit: SPECULOOS Team/E. Jehin/European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: December 5, 2018


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #SPECULOOS #Nebula #CarinaNebula #NGC3372 #Carina #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #EuropaTelescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula Star-forming Region | ESO

The Swan Nebula Star-forming Region | ESO


The first released VLT Survey Telescope (VST) image shows the spectacular star-forming region Messier 17, also known as the Swan Nebula, as it has never been seen before. This vast region of gas, dust and hot young stars lies in the heart of the Milky Way in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer). The VST field of view is so large that the entire nebula, including its fainter outer parts, is captured—and retains its superb sharpness across the entire image. The data were processed using the Astro-WISE software system developed by E.A. Valentijn and collaborators at Groningen and elsewhere.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/INAF-VST/OmegaCAM

Acknowledgement: OmegaCen/Astro-WISE/Kapteyn Institute

Release Date: June 8, 2011


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VST #Telescope #ParanalObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula's Smoky Core | ESO

The Swan Nebula's Smoky Core | ESO


This image of the Swan Nebula (Messier 17), captured by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT), is one of the sharpest of this object ever taken from the ground. It shows the dusty, rosy central parts of the famous star-forming region in fine detail.


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: January 4, 2012


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #VLT #Telescope #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

Saturday, July 30, 2022

The Swan Nebula | European Southern Observatory


Three-color composite image of the Swan Nebula (Messier 17, or NGC 6618), based on images obtained with the EMMI instrument on the ESO 3.58-meter New Technology Telescope at the La Silla Observatory. North is down and East is to the right in the image. It spans an angle equal to about one third the diameter of the Full Moon, corresponding to about 15 light-years at the distance of the Omega Nebula. The three filters used are B (blue), V ("visual", or green) and R (red).


Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Release Date: July 7, 2009


#NASA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #NewTechnologyTelescope #LaSillaObservatory #Chile #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula (wide view) | Hubble

The Swan Nebula (wide view) | Hubble


Peering into a celestial maternity ward called the Omega Nebula or M17, images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope revealed a watercolor fantasy-world of glowing gases, where stars and perhaps embryonic planetary systems are forming.

Distance: 5,500 light years


Credit: NASA, H. Ford (JHU), G. Illingworth (UCSC/LO), M.Clampin (STScI), G. Hartig (STScI), the ACS Science Team, and ESA

The ACS Science Team: H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, T. Allen, K. Anderson, F. Bartko, N. Benitez, J. Blakeslee, R. Bouwens, T. Broadhurst, R. Brown, C. Burrows, D. Campbell, E. Cheng, N. Cross, P. Feldman, M. Franx, D. Golimowski, C. Gronwall, R. Kimble, J. Krist, M. Lesser, D. Magee, A. Martel, W. J. McCann, G. Meurer, G. Miley, M. Postman, P. Rosati, M. Sirianni, W. Sparks, P. Sullivan, H. Tran, Z. Tsvetanov, R. White, and R. Woodruff.

Release Date: April 30, 2002


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Swan Nebula: Where Stars Are Born | Hubble

The Swan Nebula: Where Stars Are Born | Hubble


A watercolor fantasyland? No. It's actually a photograph of the center of the Swan Nebula, or M17, a hotbed of newly born stars wrapped in colorful blankets of glowing gas and cradled in an enormous cold, dark hydrogen cloud. This stunning picture was taken by the newly installed Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) aboard the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.

The region of the nebula shown in this picture is about 3,500 times wider than our Solar System. The area also represents about 60 percent of the total view captured by ACS. The nebula resides 5,500 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius.

Like its famous cousin in Orion, the Swan Nebula is illuminated by ultraviolet radiation from young, massive stars—each about six times hotter and 30 times more massive than the Sun—located just beyond the upper right corner of the image. The powerful radiation from these stars evaporates and erodes the dense cloud of cold gas within which the stars formed. The blistered walls of the hollow cloud shine primarily in the blue, green, and red light emitted by excited atoms of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulphur. Particularly striking is the rose-like feature, seen to the right of center, which glows in the red light emitted by hydrogen and sulphur.

As the infant stars evaporate the surrounding cloud, they expose dense pockets of gas that may contain developing stars. Because these dense pockets are more resistant to the withering radiation than the surrounding cloud, they appear as sculptures in the walls of the cloud or as isolated islands in a sea of glowing gas. One isolated pocket is seen at the center of the brightest region of the nebula and is about 10 times larger than our Solar System. Other dense pockets of gas have formed the remarkable feature jutting inward from the left edge of the image, which resembles the famous Horsehead Nebula in Orion.

The ACS made this observation on April 1-2, 2002. The color image is constructed from four separate images taken in these filters: blue, near infrared, hydrogen alpha, and doubly ionized oxygen.


Credit: NASA, Holland Ford (JHU), the ACS Science Team and ESA

Release Date: April 30, 2002


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #SwanNebula #M17 #Sagittarius #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Orion in Miniature: Messier 43 | Hubble

Orion in Miniature: Messier 43 | Hubble


A massive star is illuminating this small region, called Messier 43 (M43), and sculpting the landscape of dust and gas. Astronomers call the area a miniature Orion Nebula because of its small size and the single star that is shaping it. The Orion Nebula itself is much larger and has four hefty stars that are carving the dust-and-gas terrain. The distance to the Orion Nebula is 1,500 light-years (460 parsecs).

Technical details:

This image is a composite mosaic of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory's La Silla 2.2 meter telescope using several different filters isolating the light of specific elements or of specific broad wavelength ranges. The color arises by assigning different hues (colors), to each monochromatic image. In this case, the colors are:

Blue: ACS F435W (B) + ESO BB#B/99_ESO842 B

Green: ACS F555W (V) + ESO NB#OIII/8_ESO859 [O III]

Red-orange: ACS F658N (Halpha)

Red: ACS F775W (i) + F850LP (z) + ESO NB#Halpha/7_ESO856 + ESO NB#SIIr/8_ESO857 [S II]


Credits: NASA, European Space Agency, ESO, M. Robberto (Space Telescope Science Institute/ESA) and the Hubble Space Telescope Orion Treasury Project Team

Release Date: January 11, 2006


#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #Messier43 #DeMairansNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

Orion’s Lesser-known Nebula Takes Center Stage: Messier 43 | Hubble

Orion’s Lesser-known Nebula Takes Center Stage: Messier 43 | Hubble


The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope has taken a close-up view of an outer part of the Orion Nebula’s little brother, Messier 43. This nebula, which is sometimes referred to as De Mairan’s Nebula after its discoverer, is separated from the famous Orion Nebula (Messier 42) by only a dark lane of dust. Both nebulae are part of the massive stellar nursery called the Orion molecular cloud complex, which includes several other nebulae, such as the Horsehead Nebula (Barnard 33) and the Flame Nebula (NGC 2024).

The Orion molecular cloud complex is about 1,400 light-years away, making it one of the closest massive star formation regions to Earth. Hubble has therefore studied this extraordinary region extensively over the past two decades, monitoring how stellar winds sculpt the clouds of gas, studying young stars and their surroundings and discovering many elusive objects, such as brown dwarf stars.

This view shows several of the brilliant hot young stars in this less-studied region and it also reveals many of the curious features around even younger stars that are still cocooned by dust.

This picture was created from images taken using the Wide Field Channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images through yellow (F555W, colored blue) and near-infrared (F814W, colored red) filters were combined. The exposure times were 1000 s per filter and the field of view is about 3.3 arcminutes across.


Credit: European Space Agency/Hubble & NASA

Release Date: February 28, 2011


#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #Messier43 #DeMairansNebula #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education

The Horsehead Nebula: Visible and Infrared Views | Hubble

The Horsehead Nebula: Visible and Infrared Views | Hubble


This image shows two different views of the Horsehead Nebula. On the right is a view of the nebula in visible light, taken using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. The image on the left shows the nebula in the infrared, using observations from Hubble’s high-resolution Wide Field Camera 3.


Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI); ESO

Release Date: April 19, 2013


#NASA #ESA #ESO #Astronomy #Space #Hubble #Nebula #HorseHeadNebula #Barnard33 #Infrared #Orion #Constellation #MilkyWay #Galaxy #Cosmos #Universe #SpaceTelescope #GSFC #STScI #AURA #UnitedStates #Europe #Infographic #STEM #Education