by APOD Robot » Tue Nov 10, 2015 5:09 am
AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula
Explanation: Is star AE Aurigae on fire? No. Even though
AE Aurigae is named the flaming star, the surrounding nebula
IC 405 is named the
Flaming Star Nebula, and the region appears to have the color of
fire, there is no fire.
Fire, typically defined as the rapid molecular acquisition of
oxygen, happens only when sufficient oxygen is present and is not important in such high-energy, low-oxygen environments such as stars. The material that appears as
smoke is mostly
interstellar hydrogen, but does contain smoke-like dark filaments of carbon-rich
dust grains. The bright star
AE Aurigae, visible toward the right near the nebula's center, is so hot it is blue, emitting light so energetic it knocks
electrons away from surrounding gas. When a
proton recaptures an electron, light is emitted, as seen in the surrounding
emission nebula.
Pictured above, the
Flaming Star nebula lies about 1,500
light years distant, spans about 5
light years, and is visible with a small telescope toward the
constellation of
the Charioteer (Auriga).
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap151110.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_151110.jpg[/img] [size=150]AE Aurigae and the Flaming Star Nebula[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] Is star AE Aurigae on fire? No. Even though [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AE_Aurigae]AE Aurigae[/url] is named the flaming star, the surrounding nebula [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap031124.html]IC 405[/url] is named the [url=http://www.daviddarling.info/encyclopedia/F/Flaming_Star_Nebula.html]Flaming Star Nebula[/url], and the region appears to have the color of [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130901.html]fire[/url], there is no fire. [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire]Fire[/url], typically defined as the rapid molecular acquisition of [url=http://periodic.lanl.gov/8.shtml]oxygen[/url], happens only when sufficient oxygen is present and is not important in such high-energy, low-oxygen environments such as stars. The material that appears as [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UlsArvbTeo]smoke[/url] is mostly [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010113.html]interstellar hydrogen[/url], but does contain smoke-like dark filaments of carbon-rich [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_dust]dust grains[/url]. The bright star [url=http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0686.html]AE Aurigae[/url], visible toward the right near the nebula's center, is so hot it is blue, emitting light so energetic it knocks [url=http://www.aip.org/history/electron/]electrons[/url] away from surrounding gas. When a [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proton]proton[/url] recaptures an electron, light is emitted, as seen in the surrounding [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html]emission nebula[/url]. [url=http://www.astrobin.com/160864/B/]Pictured above[/url], the [url=http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004ApJ...616..257F]Flaming Star nebula[/url] lies about 1,500 [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html]light years[/url] distant, spans about 5 [url=https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/how_long_is_a_light_year.htm]light years[/url], and is visible with a small telescope toward the [url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html]constellation[/url] of [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriga_(constellation)]the Charioteer[/url] (Auriga).
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