by APOD Robot » Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:06 am
The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble
Explanation: How did a star create the
Helix nebula? The shapes of
planetary nebula like the
Helix are important because they likely hold clues to how stars like the
Sun end their lives. Observations by the orbiting
Hubble Space Telescope and the
4-meter Blanco Telescope in
Chile, however, have shown the
Helix is not really a
simple helix. Rather, it incorporates two
nearly perpendicular disks as well as arcs, shocks, and even
features not well understood. Even so, many strikingly geometric symmetries remain. How a single Sun-like star created such beautiful yet
geometric complexity is a topic of research. The Helix Nebula is the nearest
planetary nebula to Earth, lies only about 700
light years away toward the constellation of
Aquarius, and spans about 3 light-years.
[/b]
[url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap141012.html][img]http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_141012.jpg[/img] [size=150]The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] How did a star create the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helix_Nebula]Helix nebula[/url]? The shapes of [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/planetary_nebulae.html]planetary nebula[/url] like the [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap030510.html]Helix[/url] are important because they likely hold clues to how stars like the [url=http://solar-center.stanford.edu/interview/nemiroff.html]Sun[/url] end their lives. Observations by the orbiting [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html]Hubble Space Telescope[/url] and the [url=http://www.ctio.noao.edu/telescopes/4m/base4m.html]4-meter Blanco Telescope[/url] in [url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html]Chile[/url], however, have shown the [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5chyJrS8RE]Helix[/url] is not really a [url=http://mathworld.wolfram.com/Helix.html]simple helix[/url]. Rather, it incorporates two [url=http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2004/32/images/e/formats/web_print.jpg]nearly perpendicular disks[/url] as well as arcs, shocks, and even [url=http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2004/32/text/]features not well understood[/url]. Even so, many strikingly geometric symmetries remain. How a single Sun-like star created such beautiful yet [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap040910.html]geometric complexity[/url] is a topic of research. The Helix Nebula is the nearest [url=http://www.noao.edu/jacoby/pn_gallery.html]planetary nebula[/url] to Earth, lies only about 700 [url=http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html]light years[/url] away toward the constellation of [url=http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Aquarius.html]Aquarius[/url], and spans about 3 light-years.
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