Astronomy Picture of the Day -- NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula

NASA ^ | January 10, 2014 | (see photo credit)

[SunkenCiv]

Explanation: A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, in the constellation Aquarius, a sun-like star is dying. Its last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. A total of 28.5 hours of exposure time have gone in to creating this deep view of the nebula. Combining narrow band image data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms in red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues, it shows remarkable details of the Helix's brighter inner region, about 3 light-years across, but also follows fainter outer halo features that give the nebula a span of well over six light-years. The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot, central star. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry.

[SunkenCiv]

[Credit & Copyright: Don Goldman]

[SunkenCiv]

The Big One

join or quit list APoD 'blog post new APoD topic Astronomy Picture of the Day topic & keyword Astronomy Chat, Bloggers & keyword Science Chat, Bloggers & keyword NASA's APoD archive Calendar 1995-present APoD on your desktop

[cripplecreek]

New series premiering on SyFy tonight called Helix.

[mikrofon]

Interesting juxtaposition of APOD`s from today & yesterday ... Can you say "stellar nursery"?

[ETL]

"A mere seven hundred light years from Earth"

For anyone who doesn't know, a light year is the DISTANCE light travels in a year at light speed (186,000 miles per second). It works out to about 5.9 TRILLION miles.

[okie01]

It works out to about 5.9 TRILLION miles.

At a dollar per mile, that's only one-third the national debt...

[SkyDancer]

Realizing how small we really are.

[COBOL2Java]

When I was a kid I saw a picture of the Helix Nebula and wondered if it we were mere objects on a giant glass slide looking up at the business end of some alien's microscope...

"I see you!"

[BwanaNdege]

WOW, that is EXACTLY what all lights seen at night look like through the cataracts in my right eye.

Maybe I don’t have cataracts, just super telescopic astronomers vision.....?

Then again, maybe not.

[Hammerhead]

I am the eye in the sky
Looking at you
I can read your mind
I am the maker of rules
Dealing with fools
I can cheat you blind
And I don’t need to see any more
To know that
I can read your mind, I can read your mind

[JoeProBono]

[JoeProBono]

[SunkenCiv]

:’)