NGC 7293, better known as the Helix nebula, is the nearest example of a planetary nebula, which is the eventual fate of a star, like our own Sun, as it approaches the end of its life. As it runs out of fuel, the star expels its outer envelope of gas outward to form a nebula like the Helix.
More about Helix Nebula:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_2368.html
Images used in this gif: different views of NGC 7293. Credit: ESA, NASA, ESO.
Wandering in the eternal space...love it too Shane holgate =)
ReplyDeleteNebulae can be a bit like our eyes, or is it the opposite way round?
ReplyDeleteI think is the other way around ;)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shot. The green & red one reminds me of the Eye of Sauron for some reason even the color is different.
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty cool to think that the stuff of our bodies is in part a product of these events. I often wonder how many generations of stars our atoms are made up from... Just think of the dramatic histories contained within our bodies. All the hydrogen within us was born during the original big bang and hung around since then likely fairly uneventfully. The rest of our heavier element atoms went through at least one stellar lifecycle, so that at some point they ended up in the core of a star and their nucei became forged into heavier configurations. I wonder if the white dwarf remnants of these stars are located nearby and if we have ever sighted them. If our species ever successfully takes the huge step of interstellar travel, perhaps we will revisit one of our progenitor white dwarf stars. I assume we would never know which were our progenitors - but notionally its a novel idea. :)
ReplyDeleteUmmmm, yes we're all offsprings of a stellar orgy =)
ReplyDeleteWow Corina Marinescu that's another angle on it. lol Now I see the stars wearing togas and cavorting their way through all manner of communal fertility rituals. :)
ReplyDeleteYes I have a dirty mind at the moment =))
ReplyDeleteSean Walker elements heavier than iron, Fe (53), can only be formed in a super nova - fusion to form iron is the last that's exothermic -- right?
ReplyDeleteYeah, Fe is the last of the chain of exothermic nucleosynthesis reactions that occur in concentric core shells of stars. The cores form as a chain of heavier elements are forged in the star. Each successive core creating a density which if gravity is sufficient enables nucleosynthesis of new incremental inner cores. The number of cores possible is primarily a function of star mass. Beyond Fe the reactions becomes endothermic and they cause the thermal pressure to decrease and the outward supporting force to diminish which causes the dramatic collapse and bounce back effect of a supernova phenomenon. This is when the elements heavier than Fe - ie (Cobalt and above) are formed. For more: http://goo.gl/ODn7WL
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