Media Information
 
 
 
Collection:
NASA Hubble Space Telescope Collection
Title:
The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme
Object Name:
Carina Nebula
Object Name:
NGC 3372
General Information:
What is Hubble Heritage?

A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site.

In celebration of the 17th anniversary of the launch and deployment of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers is releasing one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras. READ: Junior version of this article Amazing Space Learn about this story in the Star Witness, a science newspaper available on our sister site, Amazing Space. [ http://amazing-spac…] It is a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of star birth — and death — is taking place. This image is a mosaic of the Carina Nebula assembled from 48 frames taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The Hubble images were taken in the light of neutral hydrogen during March and July 2005. Color information was added with data taken in December 2001 and March 2003 at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulfur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.
Acknowledgement:
*Credit for Hubble Image:* NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/], ESA [ http://www.spacetel…], N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage [ http://heritage.sts…] Team (STScI [ http://www.stsci.ed…]/AURA [ http://www.aura-ast…])
Acknowledgement:
*Credit for CTIO Image:* N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA [ http://www.aura-ast…]/NSF
Fast Facts:
Technical facts about this news release:

About the Object Object Name: Carina Nebula, NGC 3372 Object Description: Emission Nebula in the Milky Way Galaxy Position (J2000): R.A. 10h 44m
Dec. -59° 53' Constellation: Carina Distance: Approximately 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs) Dimensions: This image is roughy 25 arcminutes (53 light-years or 16 parsecs) wide. About the Data Data Description: This color image combines many exposures from Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS)* and NOAO/AURA/NSF Cerro-Tololo Interamerican Observatory's (CTIO) 4m Blanco Telescope and MOSAIC2 camera. The ACS data was from the HST proposal 10241: N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), J. Bally (University of Colorado at Boulder), N. Walborn (STScI), and J. Morse (NASA/GSFC). The CTIO observing team includes N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), J. Bally (University of Colorado at Boulder), and J. Walawender (Institute for Astronomy/University of Hawaii).
*A small area of the Hubble ACS image that was saturated around the brightest star in the field, Eta Carinae, was replaced with images from previous shorter exposures from Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2. Instrument: HST/ACS
CTIO 4m Blanco Telescope and MOSAIC2 camera Exposure Date(s): HST data: March/July 2005
CTIO data: December 2001/March 2003 Filters: HST: ACS F658N (H-alpha [N II])
CTIO: ([O III] 501nm), (H-alpha [N II] 658nm) and ([S II] 672 673nm) About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Release Date: April 24 , 2007 Color:

This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope along with ground-based observations. In total, three filters were used to sample narrow wavelength emission. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are:

CTIO: ([O III] 501nm) blue CTIO: (H-alpha [N II] 658nm) green CTIO: ([S II] 672 673nm) red HST/ACS: F656N (H-alpha [N II]) luminosity*

*The higher resolution, black & white Hubble image and the lower resolution, color CTIO images were combined using a technique that takes luminosity (brightness) information from the black and white ACS image and color information from the composite CTIO image. This preserves all of the higher-resolution detail from the Hubble data while rendering a color image representing the physical processes in this active region of space.



Orientation: The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme [ http://imgsrc.hubbl…]
note:
*Image Type:*: Astronomical
note:
*Release Date*:April 24, 2007 09:00 AM (EDT)
note:
*Title*:The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme
note:
*News Release Number:*: STScI-2007-16i
note:
*Description*:

A close-up look at the peak of one of these "pillars of creation" reveals unequivocal evidence that stars are being born inside the columns. A pencil-like streamer of gas shoots out in both directions from the pillar and plows into surrounding gas like a fire hose hitting a wall of sand. The jet is being launched from a newly forming star hidden inside the column. A similar jet appears near the bottom of the image. These stellar jets are a common signature of the birth of a new star.
facet_what:
Advanced Camera for Surveys
facet_what:
Camera 2
facet_what:
Carina
facet_what:
Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
facet_what:
COMPASS
facet_what:
Aura
facet_what:
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what:
Carina Nebula
facet_where:
Chile
facet_where:
Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where:
California
facet_where:
Hawaii
facet_where:
Colorado
facet_where:
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where:
Washington, D.C.
facet_when:
December 2001
facet_when:
March 2003
facet_when:
July 2005
facet_when:
April 24 , 2007
facet_when:
April 24, 2007
facet_when_year:
2005
facet_when_year:
2001
facet_when_year:
2003
facet_when_year:
2007
UID:
SPD-HUBBLE-STScI-200 7-16i
original url:
http://hubblesite.o…
Release Date:
April 24, 2007 09:00 AM (EDT)

The Carina Nebula: Star Birth in the Extreme
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