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APOD: 2020 August 14 Á NGC 5189: An Unusually Complex Planetary Nebula
Explanation:
Why is this nebula so complex?
When a star like our Sun is dying, it will cast off its outer layers, usually into
a simple overall shape.
Sometimes this shape is a
sphere, sometimes a
double lobe, and sometimes a
ring or a
helix.
In the case of planetary nebula
NGC 5189,
however, besides an overall "Z" shape
(the featured image is flipped horizontally and so appears as an "S"),
no such simple structure has emerged.
To help find out why, the Earth-orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope
has observed NGC 5189 in great detail.
Previous findings
indicated the existence of multiple epochs of material outflow,
including a recent one that created a bright but distorted
torus
running horizontally
across image center.
Hubble results appear consistent with a hypothesis that the
dying star
is part of a binary star
system with a
precessing symmetry axis.
NGC 5189 spans about three light years and lies about 3,000 light years
away toward the southern constellation of the Fly
(Musca).
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: planetary nebula
Publications with words: planetary nebula
See also:
- The Medusa Nebula
- Jones Emberson 1
- APOD: 2024 February 12 Á HFG1 & Abell 6: Planetary Nebulae
- APOD: 2023 December 24 Á NGC 2440: Cocoon of a New White Dwarf
- APOD: 2023 October 3 Á MyCn 18: The Engraved Hourglass Planetary Nebula
- NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula
- APOD: 2023 April 16 Á M2 9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula