APOD: The Red Spider Planetary Nebula (2017 Apr 19)

[APOD Robot]

The Red Spider Planetary Nebula

Explanation: Oh what a tangled web a planetary nebula can weave. The Red Spider Planetary Nebula shows the complex structure that can result when a normal star ejects its outer gases and becomes a white dwarf star. Officially tagged NGC 6537, this two-lobed symmetric planetary nebula houses one of the hottest white dwarfs ever observed, probably as part of a binary star system. Internal winds emanating from the central stars, visible in the center, have been measured in excess of 1000 kilometers per second. These winds expand the nebula, flow along the nebula's walls, and cause waves of hot gas and dust to collide. Atoms caught in these colliding shocks radiate light shown in the above representative-color picture by the Hubble Space Telescope. The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of the Archer (Sagittarius). Its distance is not well known but has been estimated by some to be about 4,000 light-years.

<< Previous APOD

This Day in APOD

Next APOD >>

[/b]

[Boomer12k]

Interesting...never heard of it before... will try to get a shot of it this summer if possible....

:---[===] *

[Nitpicker]

Interesting...never heard of it before... will try to get a shot of it this summer if possible....

:---[===] *

Good luck with that. Tis quite a small and dim little spider. I'll leave it for the pros.

[neufer]

[b][color=#0000FF]Western black widow (L. hesperus) hourglass-shaped markings[/color][/b]

---

<<Latrodectus is a genus of spiders in the family Theridiidae, most of which are commonly known as widow spiders. The genus contains 31 recognized species distributed worldwide, including the North American black widows (L. mactans, L. hesperus, and L. variolus), the button spiders of Africa, and the Australian redback spider. Species vary widely in size. In most cases, the females are dark-colored and readily identifiable by reddish hourglass-shaped markings on the abdomen.

The southern black widow, as well as the closely related western and northern species which were previously considered the same species, has a prominent red hourglass figure on the underside of its abdomen. Many of the other widow spiders have red patterns on a glossy black or dark background, which serve as a warning. The venomous bite of these spiders is considered particularly dangerous because of the neurotoxin latrotoxin, which causes the condition latrodectism, both named for the genus. The female black widow has unusually large venom glands and its bite can be particularly harmful to humans. However, despite the genus' notoriety, Latrodectus bites are rarely fatal. Only female bites are dangerous to humans.>>

[othermoons]

Oh what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practice to deceive!

What great opening. This morning driving to work, I was having some crazy battle in my mind about why the state of the world is as is, and here you are your APOD answered it. Thanks, I think...

Love this site, learning so much about the sky and the universe.

[Visual_Astronomer]

I have neither seen nor heard of this one, either.

Curious that it looks much like a smaller version of NGC 6302, the "Bug Nebula", which is only 20 degrees away in Scorpio.

[Dappled]

Beautiful! Like Patchen art glass or string art - a parabolic wonder. Nice processing, too.