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Astronomy Picture of the Day
The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble
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#62146
by
[z]Barbara Harris
@
30.12.2004 00:00
- nach oben -
The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble
Explanation: How did a star create the
Helix nebula
? The shapes of
planetary nebula
like the
Helix
are important because they likely hold clues to how stars like the
Sun
end their lives. Recent observations by the orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope
and the
4-meter Blanco Telescope
in
Chile
, however, have shown the Helix is not really a
simple helix
. Rather, it incorporates two
nearly perpendicular disks
as well as arcs, shocks, and even
features not well understood
. Even so, many strikingly geometric symmetries remain. How a single Sun-like star created such beautiful yet
geometric complexity
is a topic of research. The Helix Nebula is the nearest
planetary nebula
to Earth, lies only about 700
light years
away toward the constellation of
Aquarius
, and spans about 3 light-years.
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