CRL 618 may look to some like an Olympian [ http://www.olympics…] declaring victory. Only a few hundred years ago, however, CRL 618 [ http://hubble.esa.i…] appeared as a relatively modest red giant star [ http://imagine.gsfc…]. Since then it has run out of core material to fuse [ http://fusedweb.ppp…] and so has started to become a planetary nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. In its current proto-planetary nebula [ http://www.astro.wa…] phase, CRL 618 [ http://hubble.esa.i…] is evolving quickly, expelling hot gasses in complex jets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and rings moving outwards faster than 700,000 kilometers per hour. In a few thousand years, the glowing core of the cool red giant [ http://www.historyo…] will be bare, revealing a hot white dwarf star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Much remains unknown about planetary nebulae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] formation, including details of how geometries like this form. Perhaps one day some part of this nebula will be able to declare victory - CRL 618 [ http://adsabs.harva…] has an extraordinary abundance of carbon-chain molecules [ http://www.ifa.hawa…].
Explanation
CRL 618 may look to some like an Olympian [ http://www.olympics…] declaring victory. Only a few hundred years ago, however, CRL 618 [ http://hubble.esa.i…] appeared as a relatively modest red giant star [ http://imagine.gsfc…]. Since then it has run out of core material to fuse [ http://fusedweb.ppp…] and so has started to become a planetary nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. In its current proto-planetary nebula [ http://www.astro.wa…] phase, CRL 618 [ http://hubble.esa.i…] is evolving quickly, expelling hot gasses in complex jets [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] and rings moving outwards faster than 700,000 kilometers per hour. In a few thousand years, the glowing core of the cool red giant [ http://www.historyo…] will be bare, revealing a hot white dwarf star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Much remains unknown about planetary nebulae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] formation, including details of how geometries like this form. Perhaps one day some part of this nebula will be able to declare victory - CRL 618 [ http://adsabs.harva…] has an extraordinary abundance of carbon-chain molecules [ http://www.ifa.hawa…].
