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Astronomy Picture of the Day
The Helix Nebula from the VISTA Telescope
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#113543
by
[z]Barbara Harris
@
01.02.2012 00:00
- nach oben -
The Helix Nebula from the VISTA Telescope
Explanation: Will our
Sun
look like this one day? The
Helix Nebula
is one of brightest and closest examples of a
planetary nebula
, a gas
cloud created
at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The outer gasses of the star
expelled into space
appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a
helix
. The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a
white dwarf star
, glows in light so
energetic
it causes the previously expelled gas to
fluoresce
. The
Helix Nebula
, given a technical designation of
NGC 7293
, lies about 700
light-years
away towards the
constellation
of the Water Bearer (
Aquarius
) and spans about 2.5 light-years. The
above picture
was taken three colors on
infrared light
by the 4.1-meter
Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy
(VISTA) at the
European Southern Observatory
's
Paranal Observatory
in
Chile
. A
close-up
of the
inner edge
of the
Helix Nebula
shows complex gas knots of
unknown origin
.
Credit & Copyright