The Carina Nebula. A bright, large emission
nebula surrounding the star Eta Carinae, located
in the southern constellation Carina.
It is also sometimes called the Eta Carinae
Nebula, the Grand Nebula, or the Great Nebula
in Carina.
The nebula’s designation in the New General
Catalogue is NGC 3372.
It is one of the largest diffuse nebulae known,
one that contains several open star clusters.
The Carina Nebula is home to several notable
objects: the Mystic Mountain, the Homunculus
Nebula, and the Keyhole Nebula.
The Carina Nebula lies in the Carina-Sagittarius
Arm of the Milky Way, at a distance between
6,500 and 10,000 light years from Earth.
The estimated distance of the nebula is 7,500
light years.
NGC 3372 is exceptionally large, about four
times the size of the Orion Nebula.
It can easily be seen without binoculars even
though it is about five times more distant
than the famous nebula in Orion constellation.
