NGC 3372 Eta Carinae Nebula Royalty-Free Stock Image

The Eta Carinae Nebula (also known as Carina Nebula, NGC 3372) is a large bright nebula in the constellation Carina, located in the Carina–Sagittarius Arm. The nebula is one of the largest diffuse nebulae in our skies. Although it is some four times as large and even brighter than the famous Orion Nebula, the Carina Nebula is much less well known, due to its location in the southern sky. The nebula lies at an estimated distance between 6,500 and 10,000 light years from Earth. The bright star at the centre of the nebula is Eta Carinae (η Carinae or η Car), it is a highly luminous hyper giant star, containing at least two stars with a combined luminosity over five million times that of the Sun. Estimates of its mass range from 100 to 150 times the mass of the Sun. Because of its mass and the stage of its life, it is expected to explode as a supernova or hypernova in the astronomically near future. 9 April 2011 from Toora Australia, LR-RGB image with total exposure of 90 min. SBIG STX-16803 CCD Camera, Takahashi FSQ-106 refractor, 530 mm, f/5, Astro-Physics 900 GTO