Posted on 02/12/2024 1:03:17 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Planetary nebulae like Heckathorn-Fesen-Gull 1 (HFG1) and Abell 6 in the constellation Cassiopeia are remnants from the last phase of a medium sized star like our Sun. In spite of their shapes, planetary nebulae have nothing in common with actual planets. Located in the bottom left part of the featured photo, HFG1 was created by the binary star system V664 Cas, which consists of a white dwarf star and a red giant star. Both stars orbit their center of mass over about half an Earth day. Traveling with the entire nebula at a speed about 300 times faster than the fastest train on Earth, V664 Cas generates a bluish arc shaped shock wave. The wave interacts most strongly with the surrounding interstellar medium in the areas where the arc is brightest. After roughly 10,000 years, planetary nebulae become invisible due to a lack of ultraviolet light being emitted by the stars that create them. Displaying beautiful shapes and structures, planetary nebulae are highly desired objects for astrophotographers.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Cassiopeia Is a pretty neat area of the sky- lots of good things to see and photograph. Open clusters of stars are pretty cool in smaller telescopes.
M103, M52, and NGC 457 are favorites of mine. NGC457 is often called the
ET Cluster, or the Owl Cluster because of its unique shape. Really neat stuff.
Is the "speed of the fastest train" on da Erf yet another "standard" I'm unaware of?
If it is, please excuse my non-nerdiness. 🤷♂️
If it is, it must change periodically.
We’ll be lucky if they don’t start using furlongs per fortnight for units, soon.
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