Chandra Snaps Amazing View of Carina Nebula

Astronomers operating the NASA Chandra X-Ray Observatory (CXC) have just released a new image of the beautiful Carina Nebula, a cosmic formation located about 7,500 light-years away. The object lies within the Sagittarius-Carina arm of our galaxy, the Milky Way.

According to the latest X-ray measurements, the nebula contains in excess of 14,000 stars, both new and old. It is a stellar nursery, experts say, which means that it contains vast amounts of hydrogen gas and cosmic dust, which collapse to form new, blue stars.

In the recent image, researchers have identified what could very well be six previously-unknown neutron stars, the ultra-dense cores of collapsed massive stars that were too light to form a black hole when they exploded as supernovae.

What this implies is that several of the massive stars in the Carina Nebula are reaching the end of their burning cycle, and are getting ready to blow up as well.