Carina Nebula - Details
Date: 24 April 2007
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: Bok globules in NGC 3372, Carina Nebula
Copyright: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
This image shows a series of Bok globules from a mosaic of the Carina Nebula which has been assembled from 48 frames taken with the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (see related images on the right hand side). The island-like clumps of dark clouds scattered across the nebula are nodules of dust and gas that have so far resisted being completely photoionized by the strong ultraviolet radiation of young and very bright stars.
One globule nicknamed the caterpillar is shown in the central image. Its glowing edge indicates that it is being photoionized by the hottest stars in the cluster. It has been hypothesized that stars may form inside such dusty cocoons.
The Hubble images were taken in the light of ionized hydrogen. Colour information was added with data taken at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile. Red corresponds to sulphur, green to hydrogen, and blue to oxygen emission.
