Pillars of fire
This Hubble Space Telescope image captures the chaotic activity atop a pillar of gas and dust, three light-years tall, which is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. Colours have been added to the image to bring out structures whose light is otherwise not visible to the naked eye. The pillar is also being assaulted from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks. This turbulent cosmic pinnacle lies within a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7 500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Carina. The image celebrates the 20th anniversary of Hubble’s launch into orbit around the Earth. The colours in this composite image correspond to the glow of oxygen (blue), hydrogen and nitrogen (green), and sulphur (red). (Credit: NASA, ESA, M. Livio and the Hubble 20th Anniversary Team (STScI))
Source: World Science Net (http://www.world-science.net/)
