The Carina Nebula with OmegaCAM

This raw image, straight from the OmegaCam instrument on the VST, was used together with many others to produce the iconic photo of the Carina Nebula (eso1250). The images taken with astronomical instruments are always in intensity scale: the colour information is obtained by taking exposures through different glass filters. The 32 individual 8-megapixel detectors are visible, separated by black gaps. In the final image, these are filled by combining images taken at slightly different positions. Long “bleeds”,caused by bright stars saturating the detector, are also visible.