NGC 3576 + NGC 3603 (Ha)

Antilhue - Chile

Image Data

Designation	NGC 3576 (right) and NGC 3603
Constellation	Carina (Car)
Description	A lot is going on in this image. Both nebulea are very active starforming regions and emit strongly in the light of ionized hydrogen (H-Alpha). They are 7.000 and 14.000 light years away respectively. NGC 3576 with its characteristic loops formed by stellar winds also contains a number of prominent Bok Globules, dark dense stellar nurseries. NGC 3603 may well be the largest nebula in our galaxy and features concentrations of young, hot and massive Wolf-Rayet stars, much like at the center of the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070). A color rendering of this field can be seen here.
Exposure	Ha 180 min @ -15°C, 1x1
Camera	SBIG ST-10XE selfguided, CFW-8, Custom Scientific 4.5 nm Ha Filter
Optics	Astro-Physics AP155EDFS @ f/7.2 (prime focus)
Mount	Astro-Physics AP1200GTO
Software	MaxIm DL/CCD, Sigma Beta 10, Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Location - Date - Time	San Esteban (Chile) - 31Mar2003 - 01:30 UTC
Conditions	Transparency 6, Seeing 5, Temperature +14°C