The Butterfly Nebula from Upgraded Hubble
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Posted on 09/10/2009 10:15:52 AM PDT by sig226
Explanation: The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though -- shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. Above is a dramatically detailed close-up of the dying star's nebula recorded by the newly upgraded Hubble Space Telescope. Cutting across a bright cavity of ionized gas, the dust torus surrounding the central star is in the upper right corner of this view, nearly edge-on to the line-of-sight. Molecular hydrogen has recently been detected in this hot star's dusty cosmic shroud. NGC 6302 lies about 4,000 light-years away in the arachnologically correct constellation Scorpius.
Awesome!
Outstanding.
Stunning
that is awesome.
Thanks, sig.
That is incredible. Wow.
I see Bob Hope in the upper right and a pointing angel in the lower left.
I only missed three of the other four threads, so thanks for the ping.
Did all those people who asked about getting an APOD ping sign up for the list?
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