η Car Nebula
About this image
NGC 3372, better known as the Carina Nebula or Eta Carinae Nebula, is one of the great showpieces of the southern sky. It lies around 7,500 light-years away in the constellation Carina and is a vast region of glowing gas, dark dust lanes and intense star formation. NASA describes it as a place where both star birth and star death are taking place, shaped by powerful stellar winds and ultraviolet radiation from massive young stars.
At the heart of the nebula is the famous and unstable star system Eta Carinae, one of the most massive and luminous star systems in our galaxy. It has produced huge outbursts in the past and is expected eventually to end its life as a supernova. The nebula also contains dramatic structures such as the Keyhole Nebula, pillars of gas and dust, and young stars still forming inside the clouds.
For me, this was a special target because it is not something I can image from the UK. NGC 3372 sits very far south in the sky, at around -59 degrees declination, making it a true southern-hemisphere object. Imaging it from Sydney, Australia, gave me the chance to capture one of the most spectacular nebulae in the Milky Way with my travel-friendly astro rig.
What makes the Carina Nebula so impressive is its scale and energy. It is not just a pretty cloud of red hydrogen gas; it is an active stellar nursery, filled with massive stars that are carving, lighting and reshaping the nebula from within. Every bright ridge and dark lane tells the story of gravity, radiation, dust and newborn stars fighting for space in one of the most dramatic regions of our galaxy.
Annotated image
Image details
| Object type | HII region |
|---|---|
| Catalogue | NGC 3372, C 92 – NGC 3372 – CED 109A |
| Constellation | Carina (Car) |
| Observed | 2026 Apr 01 – 22:00 UTC |
| Location | Sydney, Australia |
| Moon | Full Moon – 100% illuminated – age 14.2 days |
| WordPress categories | Nebula |
Equipment
| Telescope | Askar 180mm |
|---|---|
| Camera | ZWO ASI2600MC Pro |
| Mount | Teseek 11 |
| Filter | L-Enhance |
| Focal length | 180mm |
| F-ratio | 4.5 |
| Pixel scale | 4.31″ |
Acquisition
| Exposure | 90 x 120x |
|---|---|
| Gain | 100 |
| Guiding RMS | <1.5 |
Observation notes
A recent trip to Sydney, Australia, meant that I had to do some planning and build my mobile, plane-friendly astro rig.
After weeks of testing, this little rig is capable of producing some fantastic images and fits into a suitable backpack, which I can take on as hand luggage.
This was one of my pre-planned images before I set off.
Processing notes
I took this image over a couple of nights, so I am not sure how many stacked images I used in the end. It was in the region of 90 x 120 seconds. Stacked and cropped in AstroPixel Processor and finished off in PixInsight.
Posted from CityAstroLog.