This photograph is incredible.
A piller of gas and dust within the Carina Nebula, 7,500 light-years from Earth in the southern constellation Carina. The 3-light-year-long pillar is seen bathed in the glow of light from hot, massive stars off the top of the image. Radiation and streams of charged particles from these stars are sculpting the pillar and causing new stars to form within it. The image is a composite of separate exposures made July 24 to 30, 2009. The color results from assigning different colors to each monochromatic image.
September 10, 2009, 1:25pm
