Where stars are born:

The Carina Nebula, located about 7,600 light-years away, is a star factory. Thanks to telescopes like @NASAHubble, we can study nebulas like this one and gather clues about how stars are made.

Nebulas are made of dust and gases, which can get pulled together into clumps by gravity. Eventually, a clump will get so big that it collapses from gravity, heating the material at its center. That hot core is the beginning of a star. Star birth is a violent process, producing intense ultraviolet radiation that carves out cavities in clouds and erodes material from giant gas pillars, but it’s also what creates this dramatic, beautiful scene.

In addition to baby stars, the Carina Nebula also contains many giant stars that are at least 50 to 100 times the mass of our Sun! One such star is Eta Carinae.

Image description: Swirling clouds of gas and dust appear in shades of blue, green, and yellow. Red stars are scattered all over this image, even peeking through a V-shaped band between clouds where the darkness of space is more visible.

Credit: NASA/N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley) and NOAO/AURA/NSF

#NASA #Science #Hubble #Universe #Nebula #Stars

[ INFORMATION DATA: 28 March 2024 ]