2026年2月3日
Red Spider Planetary Nebula from Webb
Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (RIT)
Explanation: Oh what a tangled web a planetary nebula can weave. The Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that can result when a normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a white dwarf star. Officially tagged NGC 6537, this two-lobed symmetric planetary nebula houses one of the hottest white dwarfs ever observed, probably as part of a binary star system. Internal winds flowing out from the central stars, have been measured in excess of 1,000 kilometers per second. These winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula’s walls, and cause waves of hot gas and dust to collide. Atoms caught in these colliding shocks radiate light shown in the featured false-color infrared picture by the James Webb Space Telescope. The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). Its distance is not well known but has been estimated by some to be about 4,000 light-years.
Tomorrow’s picture: ringing galaxy
韦伯望远镜拍摄的红蜘蛛行星状星云
影像提供: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, J. H. Kastner (RIT)
说明: 行星状星云的结构真是错综复杂！红蜘蛛行星状星云展现了一颗普通恒星抛射外层气体并演化成白矮星后形成的复杂结构。这颗双瓣对称的行星状星云正式编号为NGC 6537，其中包含一颗迄今为止观测到的最热的白矮星之一，它很可能是一个双星系统的一部分。从中心恒星喷出的内部星风速度超过每秒1000公里。这些星风使星云膨胀，沿着星云壁流动，并引发高温气体和尘埃波相互碰撞。在这些碰撞冲击波中被捕获的原子会辐射出光，詹姆斯·韦伯太空望远镜拍摄的这张假彩色红外线 特色照片就显示了这一点。红蜘蛛星云位于射手 座方向。它的距离尚不清楚，但据一些人的估计约为4,000光年。
明日的图片: ringing galaxy
