Carina Nebula

The Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), and Eta Carinae Nebula, is an emission nebula in the constellation keel of the ship. It has an apparent magnitude of 3.00 mag and a diameter of 120 minutes of arc. The fog is one of the largest HII regions in the galaxy, and is located at a distance of about 6500-10000 light years from Earth. He covers about 200-300 light years.

The most famous single object in the Carina Nebula is the variable star η ( Eta ) Carinae, which is part of the open cluster Trumpler 16.

Discovery

Although the fog one of the brightest objects in the night sky - it is significantly larger and brighter than the Orion Nebula - he was relatively late documented because of its extreme southerly location. Only in the years 1751-52 Nicolas Louis de Lacaille described him on his journey to the Cape of Good Hope. He saw the mist as Lacaille III.6.

Astronomical significance

The fog complex is located in the Sagittarius Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy. As one of the largest HII regions in the galaxy, the Carinaebel a huge region of star formation, similar to the Orion Nebula, dar. Therefore, it contains several open clusters. Among the pile of Collinder 228, 232 and 234, Trumpler 14 to 16 and Bochum 10 and 11

Most stars in the mist belong to the spectral class O, including the first discovered stars of type O3. In addition, the mist contains three of the class WN Wolf -Rayet stars.

Objects in the Carina Nebula

• Trumpler 16: an open star cluster, whose most prominent member η Carinae is
• Keyhole Nebula: a dark fragment of the Carina Nebula that is evident in the center against brighter regions in the background in the form of a keyhole
• Homunkulusnebel: a bipolar matter ejection of η Carinae in the form of two opposing spheres that surround the star. The Homunkulusnebel is the remnant of a stellar outburst that made the star in the 40s of the 19th century to the second brightest star in the night sky
• " Horse -Shoe " Nebula ( not to be confused with the similarly titled sometimes Omega Nebula ): A horseshoe-shaped ring of material derived from an older matter ejection Eta Carina. The fog has an area of ​​about 2 light-years.