The Shape of the Southern Crab
Explanation:
The
symmetric, multi-legged appearance
of the Southern Crab Nebula is
certainly distinctive.
About 7,000 light-years distant toward the southern sky
constellation Centaurus, its glowing nested hourglass shapes
are produced by the remarkable symbiotic binary star system at its center.
The nebula's
dramatic stellar duo consists
of a hot white dwarf star and
cool, pulsating red giant star shedding outer layers
that fall onto the smaller, much hotter companion.
Embedded in a disk of material, outbursts from the white dwarf
cause an outflow of gas driven away both above and below the disk
resulting in the
bipolar hourglass shapes.
The bright central shape is about half a light-year across.
This
new Hubble Space Telescope image
celebrates the 29th anniversary
of Hubble's launch on April 24, 1990 on board the Space Shuttle
Discovery.
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.
