Hubble image archive
Cosmic Ice Sculptures: Dust Pillars in the Carina Nebula
Enjoying a frozen treat on a hot summer day can leave a sticky mess as it melts in the Sun and deforms. In the cold vacuum of space, there is no edible ice cream, but there is radiation from massive stars that is carving away at cold molecular clouds, creating bizarre, fantasy-li...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2010
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2010-29-2765-image
Enjoying a frozen treat on a hot summer day can leave a sticky mess as it melts in the Sun and deforms. In the cold vacuum of space, there is no edible ice cream, but there is radiation from massive stars that is carving away at cold molecular clouds, creating bizarre, fantasy-like structures.
These one-light-year-tall pillars of cold hydrogen and dust, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, are located in the Carina Nebula. Violent stellar winds and powerful radiation from massive stars are sculpting the surrounding nebula. Inside the dense structures, new stars may be born.
This image of dust pillars in the Carina Nebula is a composite of 2005 observations taken of the region in hydrogen light (light emitted by hydrogen atoms) along with 2010 observations taken in oxygen light (light emitted by oxygen atoms), both times with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The immense Carina Nebula is an estimated 7,500 light-years away in the southern constellation Carina.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Project (STScI/AURA);Acknowledgment: M. Livio (STScI) and N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley)
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Carina Nebula Pillar |
| Object Description | Carina Nebula Star-Forming Pillars |
| R.A. Position | 10h 43m 59.99s |
| Dec. Position | -59° 35' 0.0" |
| Constellation | Carina |
| Distance | 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs) |
| Dimensions | This image is 5 arcminutes (11.4 light-years or 3.5 parsecs) wide. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created from HST data from proposals : M. Livio, K. Noll, M. Mutchler, Z. Levay, L. Frattare, W. Januszewski, C. Christian, and T. Borders (Hubble 20th Anniversary Team, STScI); and : N. Smith (University of California, Berkeley), J. Bally (University of Colorado, Boulder), N. Walborn (STScI), and J. Morse (NASA/GSFC). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | July 17, 2005, and February 1-2, 2010 |
| Filters | F658N (H-alpha+[N II]) and F502N ([O III]) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are composites of separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Each filter was used to sample a narrow wavelength range. The composite colors result from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Yellow/gold: F658N (H-alpha+[N II]) Cyan: F502N ([O III]) |
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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