AAPOD2 Image Archives

Carina nebula

Featured Astrophotographer on AAPOD2

2025, June 2025 Charles Lillo 2025, June 2025 Charles Lillo

The Great Carina Nebula – A Celestial Masterpiece (NGC 3372)

One of the southern sky's grandest spectacles, the Carina Nebula (NGC 3372) blazes with energy in this high-resolution capture from Blesfontein, South Africa. Home to massive stars like Eta Carinae and sculpted by intense stellar winds and ultraviolet radiation, this immense cloud of ionized gas stretches over 300 light-years and serves as a stellar nursery where new suns are born in the shadows of dying giants.

Framed under pristine southern skies, this image showcases dramatic contrasts of glowing hydrogen clouds, dark dust pillars, and radiant young star clusters. The photographer also documented the journey to this remote site with a video, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the effort and wonder involved in capturing such a cosmic jewel.

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April 2024, 2024 Charles Lillo April 2024, 2024 Charles Lillo

A 152h Deep Exploration of the Carina Nebula and its Surroundings in High Resolution

The Carina Nebula, a sprawling cosmic vista nestled in the southern skies, stands as one of the most magnificent star-forming regions in our galaxy. Located in the constellation Carina, this celestial masterpiece spans over 300 light-years across, teeming with vibrant clouds of gas and dust illuminated by the intense radiation from young, massive stars. At the heart of the nebula lies Eta Carinae, a stellar behemoth prone to violent outbursts, and a cluster of brilliant stars known as the Trumpler 14 and Trumpler 16 clusters. The intricate filaments and pillars within the Carina Nebula, sculpted by the forces of stellar winds and radiation pressure, evoke a sense of cosmic grandeur and wonder.

As one of the largest and most luminous nebulae in the night sky, the Carina Nebula serves as a natural laboratory for studying the processes of star formation and stellar evolution. Within its sprawling expanse, we uncover the secrets of how massive stars shape their surroundings, triggering the birth of new stars and sculpting the landscape of the cosmos. From its dazzling star clusters to its ethereal tendrils of gas and dust, the Carina Nebula stands as a testament to the beauty and complexity of the universe, inviting us to explore and unravel its mysteries.

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2020 Charles Lillo 2020 Charles Lillo

From Southern Cross to Carina nebula

Among the most notable objects, we can find the Carina nebulae, the Chicken run, the Statue of Liberty, the Coalsack Nebula, but also beautiful open clusters such as the jewel box, the Pincushion Cluster, the southern Pleiades, the Pearl cluster, etc.

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