By Free Republic | Created at 2024-10-24 19:16:08 | Updated at 2024-10-24 21:17:48
2 hours ago
Astronomy Picture of the Day - NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
NASA ^ | 24 Oct, 2024 | Image Credit & Copyright: Patrick Winkler
Posted on 10/24/2024 12:10:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: A mere seven hundred light years from Earth toward the constellation Aquarius, a star is dying. The once sun-like star's last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula. Also known as NGC 7293, the cosmic Helix is a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. Combining narrow band data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms in red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues, this deep image shows tantalizing details of the Helix, including its bright inner region about 3 light-years across. The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot, dying central star. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry.
TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; nasa
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1 posted on 10/24/2024 12:10:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber
To: MtnClimber
2 posted on 10/24/2024 12:11:04 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
To: 21stCenturion; 21twelve; 4everontheRight; A Navy Vet; abb; AFB-XYZ; AFPhys; Agatsu77; ...
Pinging the APOD list
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3 posted on 10/24/2024 12:12:10 PM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery and wildlife, click on my screen name for my FR home page. More photos added.)
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