HH 666: Carina Dust Pillar with Jet
To some, it may look like a
beehive.
In reality, the
featured image from the
Hubble Space Telescope captures a cosmic pillar of dust,
over two-light years long,
inside of which is
Herbig-Haro
666 -- a young star emitting powerful jets.
The structure lies within one of our galaxy's largest star forming regions,
the Carina Nebula,
shining in southern skies at a distance of about 7,500 light-years.
The pillar's layered outline are shaped by the
winds and radiation of Carina's young,
hot, massive stars, some of which are still forming inside the nebula.
A dust-penetrating view in
infrared light
better
shows the two, narrow,
energetic jets
blasting outward from a still
hidden infant star.