Carina Shines Over Paranal The Carina Nebula is the brightest nebula in the sky, and contains several of the brightest and most massive stars known in the Milky Way. Because of this, the Carina Nebula is often observed by astronomers who wish to research the life cycle of stars – including their often violent births and deaths. In the image, the Wishing Well Cluster (NGC 3532) appears below the Carina Nebula. A little to the right is the Lambda Centauri Nebula (IC 2944, also known as the Running Chicken Nebula). The foreground depicts three of the four Auxiliary Telescopes (Ats) of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The four 8.2-metre telescopes can be used as one, to simulate a single giant telescope.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 11:56:44 +0000