Posts tagged nebula

The newly-refurbished Hubble Space Telescope sent back its first breathtaking images after being repaired in September. Here, Nebula NGC 6302 with its butterfly wings of 36,000-degree gas.

(Source: futurenow321)

A telescope in Hawaii has captured a spectacular new view on a distant nebula, revealing a glowing swirl of gas that is at the center of an unsolved mystery surrounding the nebula’s birth.

The photo from the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii shows the complex planetary nebula Sharpless 2-71, which is located about 3,260 light-years from Earth in the constellation Aquila (The Eagle).

Planetary nebulas form when a star like our sun exhausts its hydrogen fuel. The star’s outer layers expand and cool, creating a huge envelope of dust and gas. Radiation flowing from the dying star ionizes this envelope, causing it to glow.

(Source: futurenow321)

There are allegedly an array of players involved in the region: the so-called Fox Fur nebula to the upper left, the Cone Nebula (we’re not exactly sure), and the Christmas Tree star cluster, which also doesn’t really jump out at us. But it is an absolutely stunning view of a region 40 light years across or, in our sky, roughly 1.5 full moons across.

(Source: futurenow321)