Mystic Mountain

This video shows Mystic Mountain, a region in the Carina Nebula imaged by the ESA/NASA Hubble Space Telescope on iths 20th anniversary. The object itself is a pillar composed out of dust and gas, three light years in height and at a distance of 7500 light years.

Radiation and winds of charged particles from hot newborn stars in the nebula are shaping and compressing the Mystic Mountain, causing new stars to form within it. Streamers of hot ionised gas can be seen flowing off the ridges of the nebula, and veils of dust, illuminated by starlight, float around its peaks.