E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
This beautiful Necklace Nebula, situated 15,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagitta and sighted by the Hubble Space Telescope, is the result of a stellar smash-up that happened long ago.
When stars the size of our sun near the ends of their lives, they're prone to puff away their outer layers, creating glowing shells of gas and dust. These shells can take on the appearance of rings, or globes, or even complex butterfly shapes. Centuries ago, when astronomers looked at these phenomena through their telescopes, they looked like fuzzy, blobby planets — and they've been known as "planetary nebulae" ever since.
In today's image advisory, the Hubble team says this particular planetary nebula came about when an agingi giant star whirled too close to its sun-sized companion, setting off a huge explosion. Because the stars were spinning around each other, most of the blast debris was ejected in a ringlike pattern, like water shooting out from a sprinkler. The jewels in the "necklace" are dense knots of hydrogen and oxygen gas thrown out by the blast. Scientists speculate that the gas clumped up because it was following magnetic field lines, or because of density fluctuations in the stars themselves.
Hubble took this picture of the scene on July 2, using the Wide Field Camera 3. The image is color-coded to reflect emissions in wavelengths associated with different elements: hydrogen (blue), oxygen (green) and nitrogen (red).
We're seeing the nebula today as it was 15,000 years ago, and astronomers surmise that the necklace ring was created about 5,000 years before that — which is just the blink of an eye in cosmic terms. The clumps are glowing in this picture because the gas is lit up by the ultraviolet radiation coming from the shattered stars. You can see the stars as a single bright dot at the ring's center. They're too close to each other to be made out separately, but based on repeated observations, astronomers surmise that the beat-up stars are still spinning around each other every 1.2 Earth days.
From this far away, the nebula looks like a wearable piece of jewelry — but the ring is actually 12 trillion miles wide, which is wider than our own planetary system. You couldn't wear this necklace, even if your head was as big as Pluto's orbit.
More about planetary nebulae:
- Astronomers aim to score cosmic goal
- New clues to amazing space shapes
- Student 'hoots' for Owl Nebula in contest
- Dying star belches up a toxic brew
- Slideshow: Hubble's greatest hits
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page or following @b0yle on Twitter. You can also add me to your Google+ circle, and check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
This is amazing. Hope the Gov doesn't try to kill this to as they are already talking about killing Hubble's successor.
Yes very beautiful indeed. but with so many people out of work, the country going(gone) broke, I do not see the need to waste millions still looking at stars and water on Mars etc..this is a waste of money and needs to be cut if not eliminated
the amount of money used to take this photo and download it for all to see is negligable.. the amount of money defrauded from social programs every day is probably more....
Sheila,
This is because you are shortsighted.
While I agree it is expensive, I would argue that if these projects were canceled it is by no means a sure thing that the money would be spent in a way that would be beneficial to citizens. As humans there is a fundamental need to go beyond mere survival and to explore and learn about the world around us.
Space, the final frontier.
With the world the way it is, those of you who want to remain caught in its societies can stay. Space exploration could offer a common global goal with so many possibilities things like jobs and debt or even famine would not have to exsist at all, if only humans could get beyond greed and power and work for the common good. We may still have a chance, be inspired by the Necklace Nebula, and know some of you tax money has gone to something positive, the Hubble Telescope, rather than another war, bailout, or pay raise for congress and senate.
Shelia, I just have to respond to you...is living in a bubble is what you're saying you want to do? Are you sure all you want out of life is to wake up and go to work and go home and go to sleep so you can get up and go to work and do it all over again?? When we expand our knowledge of our world and our universe it gives everything we do more meaning. Do you not care how we got here or where everything is from? Have you ever studied the universe? When you really get into the information we have available it's amazingly fascinating. I personally don't want to live in a bubble. I want access to information like this and I believe that people with opinions that things like this need to be cut are dangerous to our future survival. I want to know what's out there...how it may help us...or how it may hurt us.
So Sheila. You think it is wise to shut this down to save jobs. Hmmm interesting. So shut down space programs which would cause more to lose their jobs to save money that will more then likely never create a job. I find it funny how many people want to shut down programs like this to use the money to create jobs failing to realize they will kill jobs in the process. It this kind of knee jerk reaction that is causing the majority of problems we see now.
Anyways, beautiful photo. Continue the good work on the space exploration.
I love watching all these hubble documentary on TV and anything to do with the Universe. I love Wonders of the Universe with Brian Cox, the kid is so good at what he does and does it with such enthusiasm. I love watching Through the Wormhole and curiousity. It is goin to be a sad day when they let Hubble fall back to earth. What then? :(
I'm gonna be so sad when Nasa let's Hubble fall back to earth, what then? :(
I'm gonna be so sad when Nasa let's Hubble fall back to earth, what then? :( One reason i will not be voting for Obama again for killing Nasa. We've spent so much on Nasa and to just not fund it any longer and have to rely on RUSSIA? Please that was bad mistake. I vote for Perry instead.
Sorry to say but our govt has been killing off Nasa for decades, Nasa isnt dead btw its the space shuttle operation that is.
Obama killed the space program?????? it has been the target of the republican party for years..after all, all they want is super rich and servants, guess who gets to be the servants? anyone who votes for a republican needs a shrink. didn't you alljust get a good look at their true colors with the cry baby routine in July?
The working class is tired of the government taking all of our money and giving it to democrats like you after they take their cut. I'd rather have money go to the space program than to help lazy people who continually suck money off of us and don't contribute themselves. I bet you just can't wait to get your "FREE" health care. Grow a brain liberals!
oh yeah, and the cry babies are trying to stop the liberals from raising taxes (the US government spends $1.4 TRILLION more than it takes in - See OBAMA) and forcing them to STOP SPENDING
Yes, that should really worry you that someone is concerned we are spending too much money. That's just crazy.
Uh, two things.
1. Wasn't it Mitt Romney who just said raise taxes on people? And then belatedly called corporations people?
2. This really should be about the picture and science as a whole. It's a beautiful picture. The space programs should not be cut. Science is absolutely awesome and contributes daily. It needs to be kept out of partisan hackery and kept away from ideologues.
hubble at least gives us mere peon's a glimpse of beauty. the camera/telescope is there so enjoy the view and stop worrying about the cost. It is already paid for.
Thank you for that beautiful image. But, it doesn't appear quite as sharp-focused as other Hubble images. And I am using HD. Whatever. Thank you.
Unlike the Space Shuttle's cancellation, Hubble has successors on-line. So, when Hubble's time is over, we will see some new and even more astounding images from space. More scientifically useful than framing-worthy.
We are aware, now, that long distance space travel cannot be done as a "cross-country" sport. We'll need to work harder on our physics, and theoretical physics, at that. Thus the need to peer more deeply into the nature of space, rather than sorting through pretty pictures.
But, we'll miss her when she's gone.
After looking at this, and other amazing photos, I will be missing the Hubble telescope. All that technology just burning up in the atmosphere. Why can't they manuver the scope over to the ISS and attach it to the ISS if only to keep it for when the orbiting space museum is built?
The Hubble telescope is one of the best bargains around in terms information received and money spent by NASA.
And people are out of work because unfortunately people were told the incoming president would HELP our economy but unfortunatley he has wasted billions putting a very FEW union workers back to work and mostly road workers. Had he helped small business instead, we could be rock and rolling again but instead we aren't any better off today and we are fearing ANOTHER recession. Just wait until the poor figure out that Obamacare is going to tax them even more, that is if they are still working.
That, and all that information and knowledge we learned from its' pictures. Not to mention all the experience NASA astronauts got administering to its' needs.
The image is profound as it captures a moment of creation. The explosion of the twin stars ejects into the elliptical space elements like helium, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, iron etc that were created in the stars. Someday these elements may coalesce again to form a standard star with a standard protoplanetary disk disc around it. That disc will form standard planets. Except that only a handful of planets amongst the very many formed this way harbor intelligent life and can take a picture like the above and ask "Why are we here?".
The picture explains how atoms around us came to be.
I find it hard to believe the two stars are still separate even if they do orbit each other very quickly. Why haven't they merged and / or exploded completely yet? Also, there should be spectral signatures from both stars that are observable.
Amazing How we seem to be able to reach the outer limits and can't seem to reach the Inner limits which is not limited.... What is the search?
Gumbo, we have researchers who focus on our "Inner space", those stories are just in other places. THIS site is called "Science & Technology". That's why you don't stories on p.s.i., e.s.p., etc. here