The Ghost of Jupiter s Halo
Explanation:
Close-up images of NGC 3242
show the cast off shroud of a
dying, sun-like star fancifully known as The Ghost of Jupiter nebula.
But this deep and
wide
telescopic view also finds the seldom seen
outer halo of the beautiful planetary nebula at the upper left,
toward Milky Way stars and background galaxies in the serpentine
constellation Hydra.
Intense and otherwise invisible ultraviolet radiation
from the nebula's central white dwarf star powers its illusive
glow in visible light.
In fact,
planets of NGC 3242's evolved white dwarf star may have
contributed to the nebula's symmetric features and shape.
Activity beginning in the star's red giant phase,
long before it produced a planetary nebula, is likely
the cause of the fainter more extensive halo.
About a light-year across NGC 3242 is some 4,500
light-years away.
The tenuous clouds of glowing material at the right could
well be interstellar gas,
by
chance close enough to the
NGC 3242's white dwarf to be energized by its ultraviolet
radiation.
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.
