SpazeGiant star-forming nebula
Carina Nebula
Four times bigger than the Orion Nebula and home to Eta Carinae, an unstable giant star that could explode any time. JWST’s Cosmic Cliffs are here.
- Distance
- 8,500 light years
- Width
- 460 light years
- Biggest star
- Eta Carinae, ~100 Suns
Gas
- Hydrogen 90%
- Helium 9%
- Oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, carbon 1%
Glowing gas lit by young stars: red from hydrogen, teal from oxygen, threaded with dark dust
Measured by emission-line spectroscopy (Hubble, JWST)