images

Star cluster in NGC 3603 nebula

by

Nasa/ESA/ Hubble Heritage Team/Novapix

Reference

a-neb36-03012

Date

2010-07-13

NGC 3603 is a prominent star-forming region located in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way, about 20,000 light-years away from our Solar System. This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows a young star cluster surrounded by a vast region of dust and gas. Most of the bright stars in the image are hot blue stars whose ultraviolet radiation and violent winds have blown out an enormous cavity in the gas and dust enveloping the cluster. This Hubble Space Telescope image was captured in August 2009 and December 2009 with the Wide Field Camera 3 in both visible and infrared light, which trace the glow of sulfur, hydrogen, and iron.