In the summer of 2022, the world saw the first photos captured by the James Webb telescope. One of the first was the Carina Nebula – its orange and blue landscape with the majestic Space Cliffs amazed millions of viewers. Now NASA has presented a unique 3D visualization of this object, which allows you not only to view it from new angles, but also to feel the scale of the processes that shape the Universe.
The project was implemented by NASA specialists together with scientists from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), California Institute of Technology and other leading centers. They combined data from four observatories, James Webb, Hubble, Spitzer (inactive) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Thus, it was possible to see the nebula in all spectra – from infrared to X-rays, and in addition – in volume.
Flying through the cradle of stars
The video begins at the heart of the nebula, where newborn stars burst out of gas and dust clouds, giving the matter fantastic shapes. The camera slowly zooms out, revealing to viewers structures that look like giant cliffs, and then “makes its way” through them, showing the three-dimensional architecture.
These “rocks” – technically known as Gum 31 – are the result of the star cluster NGC 3324. Young stars, like cosmic sculptors, shape the surrounding gas and dust with powerful winds. When enough material becomes available, gravity compresses it into new stellar cores – thus begins the cycle of luminary birth.
“This visualization is a bridge between science and imagination,” explains STScI’s Frank Summers. “It turns flat images into a dynamic picture, helping us better understand how stars, gas and dust interact.”
A study of the Carina Nebula, located 7,600 light-years from Earth, sheds light on processes that took place in the early universe. And the 3D model will be a tool for scientists and space enthusiasts as well, visualizing how dynamic the space environment is.
This breathtaking 2.5-minute video is the result of several years of hard work by scientists. This productive work is not just a spectacle. It reminds us that even in the seemingly chaotic structures of the cosmos, there is a mathematical harmony that mankind is just learning to recognize.
We previously reported on how a detailed 3D map of the Milky Way was created.
According to NASA
