Posts Tagged ‘Carina’
The Little Man
J. Hester/Arizona state University NASA
Explore the image of Eta Carinae and you’ll see the little man, or homunculus, astronomers saw in their telescopes 150 years ago. Eta Carinae is a star on the brink of destruction. In 1841, the blue hypergiant-star suddenly became the second brightest star in the night sky. During the next 20 years, Eta Carinae, or Eta Car, ejected more mass than our Sun. Then the star faded. When astronomers searched out the star, they found the Homunculus Nebula. In Latin, homunculus means “little man.” Share with us the shapes and stories you see in this nebula.
Dragon Jewels
Credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration
A dragon swoops in to protect its jewels in this image of NGC 3603. Thousands of sparkling new stars form one of the most massive star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy.
Hills and Valleys
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Hills and valleys make up the starry landscape of the star-forming region of NGC 3324. This image from NASA’s Hubble Space telescope shows the edge of a giant cavity of gas. Glowing blue light sets the backdrop for wisps of gas and dark trunks of dust. Ultraviolet radiation and howling solar winds from a cluster of extremely massive and hot young stars outside the image, are causing the nebula to glow. The stars are also pushing gas and dust away from the center to form the wall of the cavity.
Glowy, swirly jungle
Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
If you set out to find a starry version of “Where the Wild Things Are,” you’d find it in the Carina Nebula. All week, we’ve been exploring the way the swirls in the star cloud look like animals; a swift, caterpillar and an eagle, and sea monsters.
Monsters of a starry sea
Credit: NASA, ESA, N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Like sea serpents riding the waves, a group of creatures rise out of the gas and dust of the Carina Nebula. All week, we’ve been exploring the way the swirls in the star cloud look like animals; a swift, caterpillar and an eagle.
Welcome
The ancient peoples saw pictures in the sky. From those patterns in the heavens, ancient storytellers created legends about heroes, maidens, dragons, bears, centaurs, dogs and mythical creatures…Read More
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By The Riviera Times
By CritterKeeper
By Sarah Q. Brett