Posted on 10/29/2012 12:33:23 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
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 emanating from the central stars, visible in the center, have been measured in excess of 1000 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 above representative-color picture by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). It's distance is not well known but has been estimated by some to be about 4,000 light-years.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Credit & Copyright: Carlos Milovic, Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA]
Nebula Week Continues!
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I can’t wait for Halloween.
Mmmm... A spider. I love spiders.
I used to let them walk on my hands when I was a kid. I was never bitten, and I didn’t kill any of them.
If I find one in my house now, I capture and release it outside so that the cats don’t torture it to death.
I will have mercy on the APOD thread and RESIST the temptation to post the picture of Moochelle in her Spider Dress.
We all thank you.
On second thought...better not.
It is so nice to encounter an attitude of gratitude on the APOD Thread! :-)
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
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