Image of the Day: One-Light-Year Tall ‘Ninjas’ of the Carina Nebula
This image is a composite of Hubble Space Telescope observations, taken in 2005 and 2010, of the dark pillars of cool gas and dust in the Carina Nebula region. The immense nebula lies an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina. The "Ninja" figures are actually molecular clouds, knots of molecular gas and dust so thick they have become opaque. In comparison, according to NASA experts, however, these clouds are typically much less dense than Earth's atmosphere.The entire Carina Nebula spans over 300 light years and lies about 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Carina. NGC 3372, known as the Great Nebula in Carina, is home to massive stars and changing nebula. Eta Carinae, the most energetic star in the nebula, was one of the brightest stars in the sky in the 1830s, but then faded dramatically.
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