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Spectacular new observations of vast pillar-like structures within the Carina Nebula have been made using the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The different pillars analysed by an international team seem to be pillars of destruction — in contrast to the name of the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula, which are of similar nature.
This image was taken by the MUSE instrument, mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope and shows the region R44 within the Carina Nebula, 7500 light-years away. The massive stars within the star formation region slowly destroy the pillars of dust and gas from which they are born.
Credit: ESO/A. McLeod
The great power of MUSE is that it creates thousands of images of the nebula at the same time, each at a different wavelength of light. This allows astronomers to map out the chemical and physical properties of the material at different points in the nebula.
Images of similar structures, the famous Pillars of Creation [1] in the Eagle Nebula and formations in NGC 3603, were combined with the ones displayed here.
Credit: ESO
In total ten pillars have been observed, and in so doing a clear link was observed between the radiation emitted by nearby massive stars and the features of the pillars themselves.
This pillar is part of the massive star cluster Trumpler 14, within the Carina Nebula, 7500 light-years away. The image was taken by the MUSE instrument, mounted on ESO’s Very Large Telescope.
This craggy fantasy mountaintop enshrouded by wispy clouds looks like a bizarre landscape. But it is indeed a pillar of gas and dust, three light-years tall, which is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The pillar is also being assaulted from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks.
The prominent dark patches, in the central region and to the right of the image are a so called Bok globule: these are isolated and relatively small dark nebulae, containing dense dust and gas. These objects are still subjects of intense research as their structure and density remains somewhat a mystery.
Credit: ESO/A. McLeod
Contacts and sources:
Mathias Jäger
ESO