PKS285 02: A Young Planetary Nebula
Explanation:
How do
planetary nebulae acquire their
exquisite geometrical shapes?
To investigate this, astronomers used the
Hubble Space Telescope
to image several young
planetary nebulae.
These nebulae are the outer
envelopes of stars like our
Sun that have recently been cast away to space,
leaving behind a core fading to become a
white dwarf.
In
this photograph in red
H-alphacarbon that composes
humans
is thought to be created by
red giant stars and ejected into the
cosmos in planetary nebulae like PKS285-02.
The complexity of this nebula leads some astronomers to
hypothesize that these shells were created by high-speed,
collimated outflows during a late phase of this
star's evolution.
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.
