Carina Nebula seen in a new light

Astronomers have obtained spectacular new images of the Carina Nebula, one of  the most colorful objects in our skies. The most remarkable thing about these images is that they were taken using infrared so the object can be seen in a completely new light. And quite literally so, since infrared radiation has the same property as light.

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© Photo : ESO/T. Preibisch

The images were taken by scientists from the European Southern Observatory using the Very Large Telescope.

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© Photo : ESO

The new pictures have revealed a number of faint stars, smaller and dimmer than the sun. At the top is a visible picture and below the infrared.

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© Photo : ESO

Scientists took several separate pictures, which were then assembled together to form a mosaic. Here just a few fragments of the nebula are shown.

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© Photo : ESO

The nebula is located in the night sky. Carina in this instance is not a woman's name but simply means "keel." Astronomers originally identified it as the Argo Navis (Argo Ship), but then divided it into component parts. Unfortunately the constellation cannot be seen from Russia.

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© Photo : ESO

Infrared light travels better through dust, which is why you can make out stars on the images that were previously lost behind the light scattering clouds.

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© ESO

The spectacular image of the nebula is caused by the bright stars in the Milky Way combining with clouds of gas.