Crux and the Carina Nebula over Tharwa

This image is a perspective of the western sky from near Tharwa, ACT, showing Crux (the Southern Cross), the Coalsack Nebula and the Carina Nebula.

The Coalsack Nebula is the dark nebula behind Crux, and is the ‘head’ of the Celestial Emu in Indigenous astronomy legends. At the time of the year and night this image was created the Emu is upside down. In Australian indigenous legend the head of the Emu can be found behind the tree (Crux).

Closer to the horizon the Carina Nebula stands out as a dominant feature in the night sky.

This image is a blend of two images—both shot from the same camera, on the same night and from the same camera position. The sky is a tracked 60 second exposure at f/5.6 and ISO 640 using the MSM Nomad tracker, while the foreground is a two minute exposure at f/3.6 and ISO 3200.

View this image in my Photo Gallery, on Astrobin, Vero, Flickr or on Glass.

Image Data

• C: Fujifilm X-T5
• L: Fujinon XF16mm f1.4 R WR
• E: Lightroom & Photoshop
• A: MSM Nomad