Cosmic butterfly is a nebula known as AFGL 4104, or Roberts 22
Films4You
2015-05-29
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A cosmic butterfly is a nebula known as AFGL 4104, or Roberts 22
It is currently a preplanetary nebula, a short-lived phase that begins once a dying star has pushed much of the material in its outer layers into space, and ends once this stellar remnant becomes hot enough to ionise the surrounding gas clouds and make them glow.
About 400 years ago, the star at the centre of Roberts 22 shed its outer shells, which raced outwards to form this butterfly. The central star will soon be hot enough to ionise the surrounding gas, and it will evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula.
Credit NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1410a
ESO http://www.eso.org
It is currently a preplanetary nebula, a short-lived phase that begins once a dying star has pushed much of the material in its outer layers into space, and ends once this stellar remnant becomes hot enough to ionise the surrounding gas clouds and make them glow.
About 400 years ago, the star at the centre of Roberts 22 shed its outer shells, which raced outwards to form this butterfly. The central star will soon be hot enough to ionise the surrounding gas, and it will evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula.
Credit NASA, ESA, and R. Sahai (Jet Propulsion Laboratory)
http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1410a
ESO http://www.eso.org
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