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The eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372, Caldwell 92), Paul Lloyd
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The eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372, Caldwell 92)

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Description

The eta Carinae Nebula is very large (230 ly diameter) complex nebula comprising both bright and dark
nebulae. It lies some 8,500 ly from us in the Carina-Sagittarius arm of the Milky Way. Embedded within
the nebula are a number of bright open clusters of very hot (class O, B) young stars, with star counts up
to 2,000. The star that gives this nebula its name, eta Carinae (η Car) is a very luminous hypergiant star
with a mass 100-150x our Sun’s mass and 4,000,000x as bright. Very few stars of this size have been
reliably found in our Milky Way, and it is expected that this star has reached a point where it will become
unstable and extinguish itself in a supernova explosion. A huge eruption from η Car in the 1840s has
surrounded it with clouds of dust that now obscure it from direct view.

Various structures have been identified within this nebula and have been separately named. Among these
are the Keyhole Nebula, the Homunculus Nebula (visible in infra-red light), the Defiant Finger, and the
Mystic Mountain, to name some of the most frequently cited.


Telescope: Canon f/2.8 70-200mm lens + 1.4x extender @ 165mm
Camera:     ZWO ASI183MC Pro,
Exposure:  32 x 600 sec, no filter
                   43 x 600 sec, H-alpha filter
                   Bortle 3-4 sky, 96% Moon waxing
Field of View: approx. 4º 10’ x 3º 00’

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The eta Carinae Nebula (NGC 3372, Caldwell 92), Paul Lloyd