APOD: 2019 October 2 - Molecular Clouds in the Carina Nebula

Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Molecular Clouds in the Carina Nebula." The Carina Nebula (catalogued as NGC 3372; also known as the Grand Nebula, Great Nebula in Carina, or Eta Carinae Nebula) is located in the constellation Carina. The nebula lies at an estimated distance of approximately 8,500 light-years from Earth. Although it is four times as large as and even brighter than the famous Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is much less well known due to its location in the southern sky.

The unusual forms featured here might best be described as evaporating. Energetic light and winds from nearby stars are breaking apart the dark dust grains that make these iconic forms opaque. The figures, otherwise known as dark molecular clouds or bright rimmed globules, frequently create the very stars that later destroy them. The floating space structures pictured here were captured by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope.