The Carina Nebula

Carina Nebula
This panorama of the Carina Nebula, a region of massive star formation in the southern skies, was taken in infrared light using the HAWK-I camera on the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile and released Feb. 8, 2012. Many previously hidden features, scattered across a spectacular celestial landscape of gas, dust and young stars, have emerged. CREDIT: ESO/T. Preibisch

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The Carina Nebula lies in the heart of the southern Milky Way, located about 7,500 light-years away from Earth.