Glory in the skies

The Carina Nebula: the pillar's convoluted outlines are shaped by the winds and radiation of Carina's young, hot, massive stars. But the interior of the cosmic pillar itself is home to stars in the process of formation. In fact, a penetrating infrared view shows the pillar is dominated by two, narrow, energetic jets blasting outward from a still hidden infant star.





 The Milky Way galaxy is made up of more than just stars and a new series of galactic maps has captured that diversity of gas, dust, particles and magnetic fields in amazing detail.