NGC 3576
Overview
Nebula
A nebula is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas, helium gas and other ionized gases...
in the Sagittarius
Sagittarius (constellation)
Sagittarius is a constellation of the zodiac, the one containing the galactic center. Its name is Latin for the archer, and its symbol is , a stylized arrow. Sagittarius is commonly represented as a centaur drawing a bow...
arm of the galaxy
Galaxy
A galaxy is a massive, gravitationally bound system that consists of stars and stellar remnants, an interstellar medium of gas and dust, and an important but poorly understood component tentatively dubbed dark matter. The word galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias , literally "milky", a...
a few thousand light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away from the Eta Carinae nebula. Eventually this nebula even received six different classification numbers. Currently, astronomers call the entire nebula NGC 3576.