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Credit & Copyright: Dong Liang
Explanation:
This pretty nebula
lies some 1,500 light-years away,
its shape and color in this telescopic view
reminiscent of a robin's egg.
The cosmic cloud spans about 3 light-years, nestled securely within the
boundaries of the southern constellation Fornax.
Recognized
as a planetary nebula, egg-shaped NGC 1360 doesn't represent a beginning
though.
Instead it corresponds to a brief and final phase in the
evolution of an aging
star.
In fact,
visible at the center of the nebula, the central star of NGC 1360
is known to be a binary star system likely consisting of two evolved
white dwarf
stars,
less massive but much hotter than the Sun.
Their intense and otherwise invisible ultraviolet radiation has
stripped away electrons from the atoms in their mutually
surrounding gaseous shroud.
The predominant blue-green hue of NGC 1360 seen here is the
strong emission produced as electrons recombine with
doubly ionized oxygen atoms.
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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
- APOD: 2023 April 16 Á M2 9: Wings of a Butterfly Nebula
- Halo of the Cats Eye