APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
Post Reply
User avatar
APOD Robot
Otto Posterman
Posts: 5345
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:27 am
Contact:

APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by APOD Robot » Sun Jun 23, 2019 4:05 am

Image Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble

Explanation: How do violent stars affect their surroundings? To help find out, astronomers created a 48-frame high-resolution, controlled-color panorama of the center of the Carina Nebula, one of the largest star forming regions on the night sky. The featured image, taken in 2007, was the most detailed image of the Carina Nebula yet taken. Cataloged as NGC 3372, the Carina Nebula is home to streams of hot gas, pools of cool gas, knots of dark globules, and pillars of dense dusty interstellar matter. The Keyhole Nebula, visible left of center, houses several of the most massive stars known. These large and violent stars likely formed in dark globules and continually reshape the nebula with their energetic light, outflowing stellar winds, and ultimately by ending their lives in supernova explosions. Visible to the unaided eye, the entire Carina Nebula spans over 450 light years and lies about 8,500 light-years away toward the constellation of Ship's Keel (Carina).

<< Previous APOD This Day in APOD Next APOD >>

Boomer12k
:---[===] *
Posts: 2691
Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 12:07 am

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by Boomer12k » Sun Jun 23, 2019 11:07 am

Awesomely Annotated...:-)
And a great image, of course.
:---[===] *

User avatar
orin stepanek
Plutopian
Posts: 8200
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:41 pm
Location: Nebraska

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by orin stepanek » Sun Jun 23, 2019 11:48 am

When you're on your cosmic exploration trip; :rocketship: keep a safe distance from this area! :mrgreen:
Orin

Smile today; tomorrow's another day!

dlw
Ensign
Posts: 89
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2005 4:43 pm
Location: California

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by dlw » Sun Jun 23, 2019 4:22 pm

What is the "bubble" near the left edge of the Carina image?
Attachments
Carina bubble.png

BillBixby
Science Officer
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:57 pm

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by BillBixby » Sun Jun 23, 2019 7:06 pm

I enjoy the pictures, comments and appreciate all the work going into the APODs. Recall being overwhelmed previously by the scope of this APOD. The information is terrific, today, with the annotation. I don’t recall if it was annotated previously.

Today I particularly like the scale added to the top right as it helps to clarify an area(s) I keep trying to understand better. Parsecs.

As I understand the terms, light years is a measure of distance, arcminutes a measure of angle. Still confused by parsecs as applied to things outside our solar system. It seems to be a term combining both distance and angle. Is the lower line showing the length of 4 parsecs plus three arcminutes? Or is the line showing the length of 4 parsecs, in this view, being equal to three arcminutes. I’m not sure my mind is willing to grasp the astronomical concept of a parsec, yet.

User avatar
Ann
4725 Å
Posts: 13373
Joined: Sat May 29, 2010 5:33 am

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by Ann » Sun Jun 23, 2019 9:08 pm

dlw wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 4:22 pm What is the "bubble" near the left edge of the Carina image?
I wish I knew. As you can see, though, Eta Carina is right next to this bubble (to the lower right of it in your picture), so mighty Eta Carina might have something to do with it.

There is something vaguely bubble-like some distance "above" powerful star cluster Trumpler 14, too. At least a large bright rim can be seen.

I too appreciate the annotation.

Ann
Color Commentator

User avatar
Chris Peterson
Abominable Snowman
Posts: 18112
Joined: Wed Jan 31, 2007 11:13 pm
Location: Guffey, Colorado, USA
Contact:

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:24 am

BillBixby wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 7:06 pm I enjoy the pictures, comments and appreciate all the work going into the APODs. Recall being overwhelmed previously by the scope of this APOD. The information is terrific, today, with the annotation. I don’t recall if it was annotated previously.

Today I particularly like the scale added to the top right as it helps to clarify an area(s) I keep trying to understand better. Parsecs.

As I understand the terms, light years is a measure of distance, arcminutes a measure of angle. Still confused by parsecs as applied to things outside our solar system. It seems to be a term combining both distance and angle. Is the lower line showing the length of 4 parsecs plus three arcminutes? Or is the line showing the length of 4 parsecs, in this view, being equal to three arcminutes. I’m not sure my mind is willing to grasp the astronomical concept of a parsec, yet.
A parsec is a simple unit of length. It is based on parallax angles, from the amount we see nearby stars shift against a distant background as the Earth moves around the Sun over a half year. You can read the article and see a diagram on the Wikipedia page about it.

The 3 arcmin annotation is showing the angular scale of the image; it is unrelated to distance. What that bar is telling you is that at the distance of this nebula, a 3 arcmin wide object spans 4 parsecs. A parsec is about 3.3 light years.
Chris

*****************************************
Chris L Peterson
Cloudbait Observatory
https://www.cloudbait.com

User avatar
Case
Commander
Posts: 616
Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:08 pm
Location: (52°N, 06°E)

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by Case » Mon Jun 24, 2019 3:04 am

Click to play embedded YouTube video.
BillBixby wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 7:06 pmStill confused by parsecs …
So was George Lucas. :wink: “It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.” Although the filmmaker later tried to justify his error with an alternate explanation (finding a dangerous shortcut route, making it about distance again).

BillBixby
Science Officer
Posts: 146
Joined: Tue Jul 10, 2012 6:57 pm

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by BillBixby » Mon Jun 24, 2019 6:12 am

Chris Peterson wrote: Mon Jun 24, 2019 1:24 am
BillBixby wrote: Sun Jun 23, 2019 7:06 pm
Today I particularly like the scale added to the top right as it helps to clarify an area(s) I keep trying to understand better. Parsecs.

Is the lower line showing the length of 4 parsecs plus three arcminutes? Or is the line showing the length of 4 parsecs, in this view, being equal to three arcminutes. I’m not sure my mind is willing to grasp the astronomical concept of a parsec, yet.
A parsec is a simple unit of length. It is based on parallax angles, from the amount we see nearby stars shift against a distant background as the Earth moves around the Sun over a half year. You can read the article and see a diagram on the Wikipedia page about it.

The 3 arcmin annotation is showing the angular scale of the image; it is unrelated to distance. What that bar is telling you is that at the distance of this nebula, a 3 arcmin wide object spans 4 parsecs. A parsec is about 3.3 light years.
Thank you Chris. A huge help to me on this. At this distance 4 parsecs in a 3 arcmin view. At other distances more, or less, parsecs will be in the same 3 arcmin. Much appreciated.

TheZuke!
Science Officer
Posts: 198
Joined: Fri Mar 22, 2019 2:19 pm

Re: APOD: Carina Nebula Panorama from Hubble (2019 Jun 23)

Post by TheZuke! » Mon Jun 24, 2019 4:15 pm

So, what does the aqua (blue-green) circle that covers the left half of the APOD represent?
If the entire nebula is 450 LY wide, and the scale in the upper right of the image shows 10 LY, the aqua circle is too small to be the nebula.

Post Reply