Statue of | Deep Space Project

NGC 3576 Statue of Liberty Nebula

The Statue of Liberty Nebula is a celestial object located in the constellation of Sagittarius, about 7,500 light-years away from Earth. Its name comes from the striking resemblance it has to the famous landmark in New York City, with its spiky "crown" and torch-like projections of gas and dust. The nebula is actually an active star-forming region, where new stars are being born from the dense clouds of gas and dust. These young, hot stars emit intense ultraviolet radiation that ionizes the surrounding gas, causing it to glow in a variety of colors. The Statue of Liberty Nebula is a beautiful and fascinating example of the wonders of the universe.

NGC 3576 (also known as The Statue of Liberty Nebula) is a bright emission nebula about 100 light-years across, located some 9000 light-years away in the Sagittarius arm of our Milky Way in the constellation Carina.

NGC 3576 also contains scattered small dark nebulae known as Bok Globules, which are very dense, opaque clouds of gas and dust, and potential sites for the formation of new stars. Because NGC 3576 is very dense, many of the stars are hidden from view. A cluster of stars is visible in infrared observations, but not enough young, massive stars have been identified to explain the brightness of NGC 3576. Astronomers have found a large flow of ionized gas in radio observations and huge bubbles in optical images that extend out from the edge of the HII region. Taken with the X-ray data, this information hints that powerful winds are emerging from this hidden cluster.

Taken under light polluted skies of Singapore.

Red: Hydrogen Alpha

Green: Oxygen III

Blue: Oxygen III

Total Imaging Time: 5h 40mins

Camera: QHYCCD 163 (Mono)

Lens/Scope: William Optics Zenithstar 61

Mount: Explore Scientific iEXOS-100