Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Carina (Car)
NGC 3372 (Keyhole), Jochen Maes
NGC 3372 (Keyhole), Jochen Maes

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Description

NGC 3372 is an emission nebula in the Carina constellation, around 8500 light years from earth.

What we're looking at here is the center region of said nebula. The main feature in the center of the frame (sometimes referred to as the keyhole nebula) is essentially a structure of cold gas/dust that's been "carved" out its surroundings. The smaller dark structures surrounding it (we call these bok globules) are essentially the same thing taken to the extreme (very compressed and dense pockets of gas/dust).

The reason for all this is the stellar wind (think of it as radiation applying immense pressure) from the massive star you can see in the frame, called Eta Carinae. At roughly 150 times the mass of the Sun, massive is perhaps even an understatement. This very star is so extreme and interesting/weird in many aspects that I don't even know how to explain it in a format brief enough to fit this space. If this sort of stuff interests you; I highly recommend doing a Google search for "Eta Carinae" and read up on it (the Wikipedia article is a good summary).

Image acquisition details:

7x900" HA
7x900" OIII
11x900" SII

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NGC 3372 (Keyhole), Jochen Maes