Which nebula contains Hubble's 20th-anniversary image known as Mystic Mountain?

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Which nebula contains Hubble's 20th-anniversary image known as Mystic Mountain? The answer is the Carina Nebula.

Mystic Mountain is both the popular name of a Hubble photograph and the name commonly given to the dramatic pillar-like region shown in it. The image was released in 2010 to mark 20 years since Hubble entered space and was captured with the telescope’s then-new Wide Field Camera 3.

The region is a stellar nursery about 7,500 light-years from Earth. Its towering column of gas and dust is approximately three light-years long and is being sculpted by intense radiation and stellar winds from nearby massive young stars. Several Herbig–Haro objects are visible, produced when jets from newborn stars slam into surrounding material.

Mystic Mountain is sometimes confused with the Eagle Nebula’s “Pillars of Creation,” another celebrated Hubble image. The two structures are different: Mystic Mountain belongs to Carina, while the Pillars of Creation are in the Eagle Nebula.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Sept. 2026

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