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Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 02:28 PM Apr 2013

Chile-Based Telescope Captures Star’s Death

Chile-Based Telescope Captures Star’s Death



21:33 10/04/2013

April 10 (By Karin Zeitvogel for RIA Novosti) - Scientists at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) have released what they call an “unusually good picture” of a star 3,300 light years from Earth taken by the ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, that is putting on a show of color and light as it dies.

“What you’re looking at is an old star that has blown off some of its atmosphere into space, and is now surrounded by a big bubble of glowing gas,” Richard Hook, a spokesman for the ESO, told RIA Novosti.

The glowing green cloud of gas is called a planetary nebula, and is part of the lifecycle of all stars that are the size of the sun or larger.

“The sun will do this in a few billion years,” Hook said.

More:
http://en.rian.ru/science/20130410/180563718.html

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Chile-Based Telescope Captures Star’s Death (Original Post) Judi Lynn Apr 2013 OP
The ESO VLT is awesome. longship Apr 2013 #1
New Photo Reveals 'Ghostly' Green Nebula in Deep Space Judi Lynn Apr 2013 #2
Why is the star to the right of the nebula? Fantastic Anarchist Apr 2013 #3

Judi Lynn

(160,219 posts)
2. New Photo Reveals 'Ghostly' Green Nebula in Deep Space
Wed Apr 10, 2013, 05:03 PM
Apr 2013

New Photo Reveals 'Ghostly' Green Nebula in Deep Space



The new image, released April 10 by the European Southern Observatory, shows the planetary nebula IC 1295 like it has never been seen before. This picture, which ESO scientists dubbed "ghostly," marks the first time the nebula has been imaged such unprecedented detail.

"It has the unusual feature of being surrounded by multiple shells that make it resemble a microorganism seen under a microscope, with many layers corresponding to the membranes of a cell," officials from the European Southern Observatory wrote in a statement.

ESO offiials released a video tour of the nebula as well.

&feature=player_embedded

The formation of a planetary nebula marks one of the final chapters in the life of a star like the Earth's sun. Once the yellow star depletes its fuel, it collapses in on itself creating huge shells of gas — like the green ones that appear in the new photo.

More:
http://mashable.com/2013/04/10/ghostly-green-nebula/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=feedburner&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29

Fantastic Anarchist

(7,309 posts)
3. Why is the star to the right of the nebula?
Thu Apr 11, 2013, 04:18 PM
Apr 2013

Is it gravitational lensing doing this?

I would imagine the star being at the center of the nebula.

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