2021年7月12日 M27: The Dumbbell Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Bray Falls & Keith Quattrocchi Explanation: What will become of our Sun? The first hint of our Sun’s future was discovered inadvertently in 1764. At that time, Charles Messier was compiling a list of diffuse objects not to […]
2021年04月25日 Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula Image Credit: R. Sahai (JPL) et al., Hubble Heritage Team, ESA, NASA Explanation: Why isn’t this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streami
2021年03月26日 The Medusa Nebula Image Credit & Copyright: Josep Drudis Explanation: Braided and serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula’s popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away in the conste
2020年10月16日 Planetary Nebula Abell 78 Image Credit & Copyright: Bernhard Hubl Explanation: Planetary nebula Abell 78 stands out in this colorful telescopic skyscape. In fact the colors of the spiky Milky Way stars depend on their surface temperatures, both cooler (yellowish) and hotter (bluish)
2020年9月13日 M2-9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA – Processing: Judy Schmidt Explanation: Are stars better appreciated for their art after they die? Actually, stars usually create their most artistic displays as they die. In the case of low-mass stars
2020年8月23日 The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble Image Credit: C. R. O’Dell, (Vanderbilt) et al. ESA, NOAO, NASA Explanation: How did a star create the Helix nebula? The shapes of planetary nebula like the Helix are important because they likely hold clues to how stars like the Sun end their
2020年8月14日 NGC 5189: An Unusually Complex Planetary Nebula Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Reprocessing & Copyright: Jesús M. Vargas Explanation: Why is this nebula so complex? When a star like our Sun is dying, it will cast off its outer layers, usually into a simple overall shape. Somet
2020 June 30 Bright Planetary Nebula NGC 7027 from Hubble Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Joel Kastner (RIT) et al.; Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI) Explanation: What created this unusual planetary nebula? NGC 7027 is one of the smallest, brightest, and most unusually shaped planetary nebulas known. Given
2020 February 16 NGC 2392: Double-Shelled Planetary Nebula Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, Chandra; Processing & License: Judy Schmidt Explanation: To some, this huge nebula resembles a person’s head surrounded by a parka hood. In 1787, astronomer William Herschel discovered this unusual
