Appropriately nicknamed [
http://www.gemini.e…] "the Skull Nebula", planetary nebula NGC 246 really does surround a dying star some 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus [
http://hawastsoc.or…]. Expelled over a period of thousands of years, the lovely, intricate nebula is the outer atmosphere of a once sun-like star [
http://www.spitzer.…ssc2004-13/release.s html ]. The expanding outer atmosphere [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] is interacting with the gas and dust in the interstellar [
http://www-ssg.sr.u…] medium, while the star itself, the fainter member of the binary star system seen at the nebula's center, is entering its final phase [
http://hubblesite.o…releases/1997/38/ast rofile/ ] of evolution, becoming a dense, hot white dwarf [
http://chandra.harv…white_dwarfs.html ]. Star and nebula are moving rapidly toward the top of the detailed view, as suggested by the nebula's brighter, upper, leading edge. The sharp image spans just over 2.5 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 246 [
http://x.astrogeek.…] and also reveals distant background galaxies, some visible right through the nebula along the bottom.
Explanation
Appropriately nicknamed [
http://www.gemini.e…] "the Skull Nebula", planetary nebula NGC 246 really does surround a dying star some 1,600 light-years away in the constellation Cetus [
http://hawastsoc.or…]. Expelled over a period of thousands of years, the lovely, intricate nebula is the outer atmosphere of a once sun-like star [
http://www.spitzer.…ssc2004-13/release.s html ]. The expanding outer atmosphere [
http://antwrp.gsfc.…] is interacting with the gas and dust in the interstellar [
http://www-ssg.sr.u…] medium, while the star itself, the fainter member of the binary star system seen at the nebula's center, is entering its final phase [
http://hubblesite.o…releases/1997/38/ast rofile/ ] of evolution, becoming a dense, hot white dwarf [
http://chandra.harv…white_dwarfs.html ]. Star and nebula are moving rapidly toward the top of the detailed view, as suggested by the nebula's brighter, upper, leading edge. The sharp image spans just over 2.5 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 246 [
http://x.astrogeek.…] and also reveals distant background galaxies, some visible right through the nebula along the bottom.
Explanation
