Hubble Sees Dying Stars
Author: Tom
Comments(5)
Comments(5)
Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope took these images of four different planetary nebulae. Planetary nebulae have nothing to do with planets, they are stars that have thrown off their outer layers during their death throes at the end of their 10 billion year lives. Our sun will do the same, some day, but not any time soon. These four planetary nebula are about 7,000 light-years from us and are in the Milky Way, and the images were taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in February 2007.
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He 2-47 is dubbed the “starfish†because of its shape. The six lobes of gas and dust, which resemble the legs of a starfish, suggest that He 2-47 puffed off material at least three times in three different directions. Each time, the star fired off a narrow pair of opposite jets of gas. He 2-47 is in the southern constellation Carina. |
| NGC 5315, the chaotic-looking nebula, reveals an x-shaped structure. This shape suggests that the star ejected material in two different outbursts in two distinct directions. Each outburst unleashed a pair of diametrically opposed outflows. NGC 5315 lies in the southern constellation Circinus. |
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IC 4593 is in the northern constellation Hercules. |
| NGC 5307 displays a spiral pattern, which may have been caused by the dying star wobbling as it expelled jets of gas in different directions. NGC 5307 resides in the southern constellation Centaurus. |
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Oh by the way: Back in the eighteenth century the dying stars resembled planets in the telescopes of the day, that’s where the name Planetary nebulae comes from.
Source and Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
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Speaking of dying stars, the HST itself is down to three working gyros. The most recent failure had been operating about 6.5 years, considered above average. One of the three remaining is at the 6.5 year mark. HST can do full science on 2, and has been for some time, to conserve gyros. There is now software that can operate on one. The HST can be serviced even if there are zero. The mission, last i’ve heard, is scheduled for September 2008.
Planets in our solar system starting with “S’ Beside Saturan! HELP….
Well let’s see, I’d say Sedna might be a dwarf planet, but I’m not sure if that even qualifies being in the oort cloud and all. Hey it’s 1100 miles in diameter, throw it out there and see.
good pic