Nebula
Carina Nebula (NGC 3372)
The giant nebula of the southern sky; home of Eta Carinae
Four times larger and far brighter than the Orion Nebula; it hosts dozens of the Milky Way's most massive stars (Eta Carinae, WR 25, the Trumpler 14/16 clusters). The "Cosmic Cliffs" in JWST's first images lie at the edge of this nebula.
| Type | Nebula |
|---|---|
| Constellation | Carina |
| Distance | 2,600 pc (8,500 light-years) |
| Apparent magnitude | 1,0 |
| Diameter | ~300 light-years |
| Discovery | 1752, Lacaille |
| Right ascension (J2000) | 10h 44m 24.0s |
| Declination (J2000) | −59° 36′ 00″ |
In the sky
Visible from the whole Southern Hemisphere and north to latitude 30° N. South of latitude 30° S it never sets. It stands highest at midnight in March, the best time to observe it.
Through a telescope from Earth
Light's journey
The light you see tonight set out 8,480 years ago. At that time the first farming villages were being founded; there was no writing yet. At the speed of Voyager 1, the fastest craft leaving the Solar System (16.9 km per second), the trip would take 150 million years.