Statue of Liberty

NGC 3576 is a bright emission nebula, known as the “Statue of Liberty Nebula.” This complex is located near the galactic plane along the Carina arm of the Milky Way. It is approximately 100 light-years across and is located near the Eta Carinae Nebula, forming the western section of RCW 57. NGC 3576 consists of a giant star-forming molecular cloud with a luminous H II region located just outside. In the infrared, this is one of the brightest H II regions in the Galaxy. It is expanding into the molecular cloud and appears to be triggering further star formation.

Many of the brightest stars in this formation are still wrapped in their natal cocoons of gas and dust. Most stars exhibit excess infrared radiation from the surrounding circumstellar disks.

Credit: Wikipedia