CARINA-AOcomparison-lg (IMAGE) Rice University Caption Two near-infrared composite images showing a 33 trillion-mile section of the Western Wall, a cloud of gas and dust in a star-forming region of the Carina Nebula. Each image was taken by Rice University astronomer Patrick Hartigan and colleagues from telescopes at the National Science Foundation's NOIRLab observatory in Chile and shows hydrogen molecules at the cloud's surface (red) and hydrogen atoms evaporating from the surface (green). The left-hand image was taken with the four-meter Blanco telescope's Wide-Field Infrared Imager in 2015. The right-hand image was taken with the 8.1-meter Gemini South telescope's wide-field adaptive optics imager in January 2018 and has about 10 times finer resolution thanks to a mirror that changes shape to correct for atmospheric distortion. Credit Images courtesy of Patrick Hartigan/Rice University Usage Restrictions Must credit: "Patrick Hartigan/Rice University" License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.