Mystic Mountain

For the 2015 film, see Mystic Mountain (film).
Mystic Mountain
The location of the feature can be seen in this wider view of the Carina Nebula.

Mystic Mountain is a photograph and a term for a region in the Carina Nebula imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. The view was captured by the then-new Wide Field Camera 3, though the region was also viewed by the previous generation instrument. The new view celebrated the telescope's 20th anniversary of being in space in 2010.[1] Mystic Mountain contains multiple Herbig–Haro objects where nascent stars are firing off jets of gas which interact with surrounding clouds of gas and dust.[2][3] This region is about 7,500 light-years (2,300 parsecs) away from Earth. The pillar measures around three light-years in height (190,000 astronomical units).[1] The name was influenced by the works of H. P. Lovecraft.[4]

  1. ^ a b Achenbach, Joel (16 April 2015). "Mystic Mountain: Is this the Hubble Space Telescope's greatest image?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  2. ^ "Interactive: The Carina Nebula in all its Glory..." The Hubble Heritage Project. 24 April 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Starry-Eyed Hubble Celebrates 20 Years of Awe and Discovery". Hubblesite.org. 22 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 December 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  4. ^ Sheehan, William; Conselice, Christopher J. (2015). "What Stuff Stars Are Made Of". Galactic Encounters: Our Majestic and Evolving Star-System, From the Big Bang to Time's End. New York: Springer. p. 166. doi:10.1007/978-0-387-85347-5_8. ISBN 978-0-387-85347-5.