Object: NGC 3324
The right side of this image reveals a giant gaseous cavity within a star-forming region called NGC 3324. The glowing nebula is ionized from several hot, young stars in the vicinity, which have also carved out the cavity by their intense ultraviolet radiation. The sharp, dark columns of cool gas and dust that ring the cavity resist the scorching UV from the young stars and create features that point in the direction of the energy flow.
NGC 3324 is on the northwest side of the Eta Carina Nebula (NGC 3372), located at a distance of about 7,200 light-years from Earth. NGC 3324 is nicknamed the Gabriela Mistral nebula because of the striking resemblance to the silhouette of the Nobel Prize winning Chilean poet by that name.
- Team: Dave Jurasevich and Howard Hedlund
- Filters: Tru-Balance 5 nm H Alpha Filter
- Exposure: Ha 4 x 4 ea x 900 sec 1x1 bin (cropped from a larger mosaic)
- Date: March 2014
- Software: CCDStack 2, Photoshop CS5