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Keyword: redspidernebula

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  • Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Red Spider Planetary Nebula

    10/29/2012 12:33:23 AM PDT · by SunkenCiv · 8 replies
    NASA ^ | October 29, 2012 | (see photo credit)
    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 emanating from the central stars, visible in the center, have been measured in excess of 1000 kilometers per second. These winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls, and cause waves of hot gas...