Zooming in on “Mystic Mountain” in the Carina Nebula

Made in honour of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s 20th year in orbit, this video zooms in on a craggy fantasy mountaintop enshrouded by wispy clouds that looks like a bizarre landscape from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The Hubble image, which is even more dramatic than fiction, captures the chaotic activity atop a pillar of gas and dust, three light-years tall, which is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. The pillar is also being assaulted from within, as infant stars buried inside it fire off jets of gas that can be seen streaming from towering peaks. More information and download options: Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Bacon, L. Frattare, Z. Levay and F. Summers (STScI/AURA)