The cool clouds of Carina

Observations made with the APEX telescope in submillimetre-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.

#L

Credit:

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

Over de afbeelding

Id:eso1145a
Type:Observatie
Publicatiedatum:16 november 2011 12:00
Gerelateerde berichten:eso1145
Grootte:4056 x 4584 px

Over het object

Naam:Carina Nebula, NGC 3372
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Star Formation
Afstand:7500 lichtjaren
Constellation:Carina
Categorie:Nebulae

Afbeeldingstypen

Grote JPEG
5,4 MB

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Achtergrond

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1280x1024
780,9 KB
1600x1200
1,0 MB
1920x1200
1,1 MB
2048x1536
1,4 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):10 44 47.14
Position (Dec):-59° 38' 49.48"
Field of view:68.10 x 76.98 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.5° right of vertical

Kleuren & filters

BandGolflengteTelescoop
Optisch
OII
Other
N/A
Optisch
H-alpha
Other
N/A
Millimeter
Submillimetre
870 μmAtacama Pathfinder Experiment
LABOCA
Millimeter
Submillimetre
870 μmAtacama Pathfinder Experiment
LABOCA
Optisch
SII
Other
N/A
Millimeter
Submillimetre
870 μmAtacama Pathfinder Experiment
LABOCA