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Astronomy Picture of the Day 11-08-02
NASA ^
| 11-08-02
| Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell
Posted on 11/08/2002 5:20:05 AM PST by petuniasevan
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2002 November 8
NGC 6369: The Little Ghost Nebula
Credit: Hubble Heritage Team, NASA
Explanation: This pretty planetary nebula, cataloged as NGC 6369, was discovered by 18th century astronomer William Herschel as he used a telescope to explore the constellation Ophiuchus. Round and planet-shaped, the nebula is also relatively faint and has acquired the popular moniker of Little Ghost Nebula. Planetary nebulae in general are not at all related to planets, but instead are created at the end of a sun-like star's life as its outer layers expand into space while the star's core shrinks to become a white dwarf. The transformed white dwarf star, seen near the center, radiates strongly at ultraviolet wavelengths and powers the expanding nebula's glow. Surprisingly complex details and structures of NGC 6369 are revealed in this delightful color image composed from Hubble Space Telescope data. The nebula's main ring structure is about a light-year across and the glow from ionized oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen atoms are colored blue, green, and red respectively. Over 2,000 light-years away, the Little Ghost Nebula offers a glimpse of the fate of our Sun, which should produce its own pretty planetary nebula only about 5 billion years from now.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: astronomy; dust; gas; ghost; image; nebula; ophiuchus; photography; planetary; star; whitedwarf
Astronomy Fun Fact:It is very difficult to get a "true color" image of a planetary nebula. The camera will be sensitive to certain wavelengths, while our eyes are sensitive to other wavelengths. Click on the link below for a comparison and explanation.
What Is A True Color Image?
To: MozartLover; Joan912; NovemberCharlie; snowfox; Dawgsquat; viligantcitizen; theDentist; ...
To: petuniasevan
Thank you (-:
3
posted on
11/08/2002 5:36:44 AM PST
by
firewalk
To: petuniasevan
Thank you.
To: petuniasevan
The nebula looks like my eye. LOL. Off on another subject, the GOP trounced the dems in the Missouri General Assembly (our state legislature) Even the Republicans were suprised.
5
posted on
11/08/2002 3:43:57 PM PST
by
graycamel
To: petuniasevan
What an awesome picture! Do you know of any place I could get a poster or a print of that one? Is there some sort of e-store that sells prints of photos taken by Hubble?
6
posted on
11/08/2002 3:48:28 PM PST
by
SuziQ
To: petuniasevan
My husband thinks that looks like a big nipple.
To: SuziQ
YES! Go to my favorite "hard copy" supplier's website. They're great!
ASTROGRAPHICS
To: petuniasevan
Wow!! Thanks so much!! I'd like to get some prints for the kids when we study Astronomy!
9
posted on
11/09/2002 8:39:12 AM PST
by
SuziQ
To: graycamel
Yes! Even though up here the tax-and-spend RINO McCallum got ousted by BingoDoyle, the GOP holds the legislature.
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