Post by glactus on Feb 17, 2008 10:09:32 GMT
The Eta Carinae Nebula (also known as the Great Nebula in Carina, the Carina Nebula, or NGC 3372) is a large bright nebula which surrounds the star Eta Carinae, one of the most massive and luminous stars in the galaxy.
The Eta Carinae nebula NGC 3372
The nebula lies at an estimated distance between 6,500 and 10,000 light years from Earth. The constellation of Carina contains multiple O-type stars.
This nebula is one of the largest H II regions in the Milky Way galaxy. It has a visual magnitude of 1.0. The astronomical coordinates are:
R.A.: 10h 43.8m
Dec.: −59° 52'
Although it is some four times as large and even brighter than the famous Orion Nebula, the Eta Carinae Nebula is much less well known, due to its location far in the southern hemisphere. It was discovered by Abbé Lacaille in 1751–52 from the Cape of Good Hope.
Keyhole Nebula
A portion of the Eta Carina Nebula is known as the Keyhole Nebula, a name given to it by John Herschel in the 19th century. The Keyhole Nebula is actually a much smaller and darker cloud of cold molecules and dust, containing bright filaments of hot, fluorescing gas, silhouetted against the much brighter background nebula, and has a diameter of approximately 7 light-years.
credits:
image: Eta carina:
www.answers.com/topic/eta-carinae-nebula
image: Keyhole nebula - Hubble
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Keyhole_Nebula_-_Hubble_1999.jpg