eta Carinae Nebula

Bright nebula in Carina

 A large, complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina-Sagittarius Arm. A region of recent star formation as well as imminent stellar destruction and death. Also known as Grand Nebula or Great Nebula in Carina.

Catalog Numbers: NGC 3372, Lacaille III.5&6, Dunlop 309, Gum 33, RCW 53, Caldwell 92

Location: Carina (10h 44.3m, −59° 53.3ʹ)

Angular size: 2°

Size: 300 light years across

Distance: 7 500 light years

Age: ~ 3 million years

Mass: 250 solar masses

Luminosity: 1 million Suns

Highlights:

• The brightest patch along the Southern Milky Way.
• One of the largest diffuse nebulae in our skies. Although it is four times larger and even brighter than the famous Orion Nebula, it is much less well known due to its location in the southern sky.
• Large, young and very energetic star forming region. It has 70 O-type stars; Orion Nebula only has 10.
• 5th magnitude orange-coloured star eta Carinae: a massive and unstable stellar system poised on the brink of death: next supernova in the Galaxy!
• Tiny “Homunculus” nebula surrounds the star eta Carinae; formed in 1843 after a massive stellar eruption.
• Discovered by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in 1752 from the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Town)