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Posted on 02/03/2026 12:14:05 PM PST by MtnClimber
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 flowing out from the central stars, have been measured in excess of 1,000 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 featured false-color infrared picture by the James Webb Space Telescope. The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). Its distance is not well known but has been estimated by some to be about 4,000 light-years.
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Why a “planetary “ nebula?
Not sure, but possibly because some nebulas are just dust clouds and some are around the remnants of a star that exploded or shed its outer layers (which are the planetary nebula type).
When seen through a telescope eyepiece, “planetary” nebulae are called that because they somewhat resemble planets at first glance, but they are not located in our solar system.
Wow.
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