Searchlight Beams from the Egg Nebula
Explanation:
The dramatic and mysterious
looking object revealed in this
Hubble Space Telescope image
is known as the
Egg Nebula. It is an aging star about
3,000 lightyears distant, entering its
Planetary Nebula phase of evolution.
Surrounded by an expanding cloud of gas and dust, a dense cocoon of dust
(seen as the dark band running diagonally across the center)
encloses the star itself and blocks it from direct view.
The searchlight appearance is created as light from the star shines
more easily through the thinner parts of the cocoon.
Dust particles in the expanding cloud
scatter and reflect the starlight making the beams visible.
The sharpness of the HST image reveals a wealth of detail which will
help to understand this
complex and spectacular part of the stellar lifecycle.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
