NGC 3372 Carina Nebula

This image is a mosaic comprising two panels from the CHI-1 telescope.

The Carina Nebula, NGC 3372, is a large and complex area of bright and dark nebulosity in the constellation of Carina. The nebula is one of the largest diffuse nebulae visible, four times larger and brighter than the M42. It is located in the Carina-Sagittarius arm of the milky Way, approx. 8.500 lightyears from Earth.

The Carina Nebula contains a number of star clusters, including Trumpler 14/15/16. This image also contains a number of objects including the Keyhole Nebula - lower left, and within this a number of Bok Granules.

The Keyhole Nebula is a small dark cloud of cold molecules and dust containing bright filaments of hot, fluorescing gas, silhouetted against the much brighter background nebula.

A small Bok Granule is just visible (if you look very closely) within the Keyhole Nebula (just to the left), famously captured by Hubble and nicknamed the ‘Finger of God’ or ‘Carina Defiant Finger’ due to its shape. It is likely a place where new stars are being born. The intense radiation of the nearby stars will gradually erode the cloud until it completely evaporates within 200,000 to 1,000,000 years.