This false-color image taken by NASA's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spitzer_Space_Telescope" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Spitzer Space Telescope">Spitzer Space Telescope</a> shows the "South Pillar" region of the star-forming region called the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carina_Nebula" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Carina Nebula">Carina Nebula</a>. Though the nebula's most famous and massive star, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eta_Carinae" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Eta Carinae">Eta Carinae</a>, is too bright to be observed by infrared telescopes, the downward-streaming rays hint at its presence above the picture frame. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultraviolet" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Ultraviolet">Ultraviolet</a> radiation and stellar winds from Eta Carinae and its siblings have shredded the cloud to pieces, leaving a mess of tendrils and pillars. This shredding process triggered the birth of the new stars uncovered by Spitzer.
This image was taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer. It is a three-color composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometre" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Micrometre">microns</a> (blue), 4.5 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometre" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Micrometre">microns</a> (green), 5.8 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometre" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Micrometre">microns</a> (orange), and 8.0 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometre" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Micrometre">microns</a> (red).
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/N. Smith (Univ. of Colorado at Boulder)
Release Date: May 30th, 2005
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/Media/releases/ssc2005-12/ssc2005-12a.shtml">Spitzer Science Center</a>