Videos: Hubble Telescope Captures Dazzling Images of Evolving Planetary Nebulae

Researchers reviewing images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope recently came upon quite the stunning find when they uncovered a trove of images offering a detailed look at the splitting of two planetary nebulas.

A planetary nebula is the result of a star shedding its outermost layers once it has run out of fuel to burn, often taking either a ring-shaped or bubble-like form after the star’s gases expand into space. The planetary nebulae researchers focused their attention on were NGC 6302 and NGC 7027.

Although pictures of both nebulae had been captured by Hubble previously, neither of the nebulae had been viewed through the space telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3, which allows photos to be captured across a spectrum of near-ultraviolet to near-infrared light. 

New photos of NGC 6302, which is also known as the Butterfly Nebula since its expanding gas gives it the appearance of having wings, only showed its opposing S-shaped streams of gas when officials used the telescope’s filter to capture near-infrared emissions from ionized iron atoms.

“It’s commonly observed in supernova remnants and active galactic nuclei, and outflowing jets from newborn stars, but is very rarely seen in planetary nebulas.”

And then there’s NGC 7027, often referred to as the Jewel Bug Nebula for its round, bright, metallic-looking shell. Citing the newly analyzed photos, the team speculated that the nebula has undergone massive changes – possibly having consumed a companion star –  as they have detected a new pattern taking shape.

The group of researchers, who published their new findings in the journal Galaxies, hope the imagery will help the scientific community better understand and analyze the events taking place within evolving planetary nebulae.

Sourse: sputniknews.com