The Eta Carinae Nebula (also known as the Great Nebula in Carina, the Carina Nebula, or NGC 3372) is a large bright nebula that surrounds several open clusters of stars. Eta Carinae and HD 93129A, two of the most massive and luminous stars in the galaxy, are among them. The nebula lies at an estimated distance between 6,500 and 10,000 light years from Earth. It is located in the constellation of Carina. The nebula contains multiple O-type stars. In astronomy, an epoch is a moment in time for which celestial coordinates or orbital elements are specified. ... Equatorial Coordinates Right ascension (abbrev. ... In astronomy, declination (abbrev. ... A light-year or lightyear (symbol: ly) is a unit of measurement of length, specifically the distance light travels in vacuum in one year. ... The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other celestial body is a measure of its apparent brightness as seen by an observer on Earth. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carina (IPA: , Latin: ) is a southern constellation which forms part of the old constellation of Argo Navis. ... Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) is an AAA (authentication, authorization and accounting) protocol for applications such as network access or IP mobility. ... In astronomy, absolute magnitude is the apparent magnitude, m, an object would have if it were at a standard luminosity distance away from us, in the absence of interstellar extinction. ... The New General Catalogue (NGC) is the most well-known catalogue of deep sky objects in amateur astronomy. ... The Orion Nebula, a famous emission nebula. ... The Triangulum Emission Nebula NGC 604 The Pillars of Creation from the Eagle Nebula For other uses, see Nebula (disambiguation). ... The Pleiades is one of the most famous open clusters. ... It has been suggested that Homunculus Nebula be merged into this article or section. ... HD 93129A is one of the most luminous stars in the Milky Way. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Carina (IPA: , Latin: ) is a southern constellation which forms part of the old constellation of Argo Navis. ... In astronomy, stellar classification is a classification of stars based initially on photospheric temperature and its associated spectral characteristics, and subsequently refined in terms of other characteristics. ...

This nebula is one of the largest H II regions in the Milky Way galaxy. It has a visual magnitude of 1.0. The astronomical coordinates are: NGC 604, a giant H II region in the Triangulum Galaxy. ... The Milky Way as seen from Death Valley The Milky Way is the galaxy where the Solar System (and Earth) is located. ... NGC 4414, a typical spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices, is about 17,000 parsecs in diameter and approximately 20 million parsecs distant. ... The apparent magnitude (m) of a star, planet or other celestial body is a measure of its apparent brightness as seen by an observer on Earth. ...

• R.A.: 10^h 43.8^m
• Dec.: −59° 52'

The nebula is one of the largest diffuse nebula in our skies. Although it is some four times as large and even brighter than the famous Orion Nebula, the Eta Carinae Nebula is much less well known, due to its location far in the southern hemisphere. It was discovered by Abbé Lacaille in 1751–52 from the Cape of Good Hope. Equatorial Coordinates Right ascension (abbrev. ... In astronomy, declination (abbrev. ... The Orion Nebula (also known as Messier 42, M42, or NGC 1976) is a diffuse nebula situated south of Orions Belt. ... Abbé Nicolas Louis de Lacaille (March 15, 1713 – March 21, 1762) was a French astronomer. ... Events Adam Smith is appointed professor of logic at the University of Glasgow March 25 - For the last time, New Years Day is legally on March 25 in England and Wales. ... 1752 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... The Cape of Good Hope; looking towards the west, from the coastal cliffs above Cape Point. ...

Within the large bright nebula is a much smaller feature, immediately surrounding Eta Carinae itself. This small nebula is known as the Homunculus Nebula (from the Latin meaning Little Man), and is believed to have been ejected in an enormous outburst in 1841 which briefly made Eta Carinae the second-brightest star in the sky. The Homunculus Nebula is an emission nebula surrounding the massive star Eta Carinae. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

Objects within the Eta Carinae Nebula

A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image/diagram of the of Eta Carinae Nebula. Zoomable version Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 387 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 484 pixel, file size: 224 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A diagram of the Eta Carinae Nebula. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 387 pixelsFull resolution (1000 × 484 pixel, file size: 224 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A diagram of the Eta Carinae Nebula. ... The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. ... The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nations public space program. ... This article is about the European Space Agency. ...

Super massive star Eta Carinae as imaged by Hubble Space Telescope.

A huge, billowing pair of gas and dust clouds are captured in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the supermassive star Eta Carinae. ... A huge, billowing pair of gas and dust clouds are captured in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of the supermassive star Eta Carinae. ... The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. ...

Eta Carinae

Main article: Eta Carinae

Eta Carinae is a highly luminous hypergiant star. Estimates of its mass range from 100–150 times the mass of the Sun, and its luminosity is about four million times that of the Sun. It has been suggested that Homunculus Nebula be merged into this article or section. ... Luminosity has different meanings in several different fields of science. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... STAR is an acronym for: Organizations Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers], the self-regulatory body for the entertainment ticket industry in the UK. Society for Telescopy, Astronomy, and Radio, a non-profit New Jersey astronomy club. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... The Sun (Latin: ) is the star at the center of the Solar System. ...

This object is currently the most massive star that can be studied in great detail. Several other known stars may be more luminous and more massive, but data on them is far less robust. (Caveat: Since examples such as the Pistol Star have been demoted by improved data, one should be skeptical of most available lists of "most massive stars." As of late 2006, Eta Car still has the highest confirmed luminosity, based on data across a broad range of wavelengths.) Stars with more than 80 times the mass of the Sun produce more than a million times as much light as the Sun. They are quite rare—only a few dozen in a galaxy as big as ours—and they flirt with disaster near the Eddington limit, i.e., the outward pressure of their radiation is almost strong enough to counteract gravity. Stars that are more than 120 solar masses exceed the theoretical Eddington limit, and their gravity is barely strong enough to hold in its radiation and gas, resulting in a possible supernova or hypernova in the near future. Below is a list of stars arranged in order of increasing absolute bolometric magnitude (decreasing luminosity). ... This is a list of the most massive stars. ... The Pistol Star, once thought to be the brightest star in the Milky Way galaxy (exceeded only by LBV-1806), is 10 million times as bright as the Sun and about 100 times as massive. ... In physics, the Eddington Limit is a natural limit to the luminosity that can be radiated by spherically symmetric accretion onto a compact object, like a black hole. ... In physics, the Eddington Limit is a natural limit to the luminosity that can be radiated by spherically symmetric accretion onto a compact object, like a black hole. ... Multiwavelength X-ray image of the remnant of Keplers Supernova, SN 1604. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ...

Eta Carinae's effects on the nebula can be seen directly. The dark globules in the above image and some other less visible objects have tails pointing directly away from the massive star. The entire nebula would have looked very different before the Great Eruption in the 1840's surrounded Eta Carinae with dust, drastically reducing the amount of ultraviolet light it put into the nebula.

Keyhole Nebula, imaged by Hubble Space Telescope. The small nebula to the upper left has been nicknamed "finger of God" or "God's birdie", due to the sophomoric gesture it appears to be making.

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 517 pixelsFull resolution (2292 × 1480 pixel, file size: 4. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 517 pixelsFull resolution (2292 × 1480 pixel, file size: 4. ... The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is a telescope in orbit around the Earth, named after astronomer Edwin Hubble. ...

Keyhole Nebula

A portion of the Eta Carina Nebula is known as the Keyhole Nebula, a name given to it by John Herschel in the 19th century. The Keyhole Nebula is actually a much smaller and darker cloud of cold molecules and dust, containing bright filaments of hot, fluorescing gas, silhouetted against the much brighter background nebula. The diameter of the Keyhole structure is approximately 7 light-years. John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel (7 March 1792 – 11 May 1871) was an English mathematician and astronomer. ...

Its image has been used on the internet as a joke, due to the fact that it resembles a giant hand flipping the bird. The Middle Finger gesture - using the abstraction of a penis to insult someone. ...

See also

• Eta Carinae
• H II regions

It has been suggested that Homunculus Nebula be merged into this article or section. ... NGC 604, a giant H II region in the Triangulum Galaxy. ...

External links

• SEDS: The Eta Carinae Nebula
• NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Great Nebula in Carina - July 19, 1999
• The ESA Hubble Space Telescope site: Results for the Carina Nebula

References