Day-Glo green planetary nebula captured by Very Large Telescope
By Meghan Rosen
Web edition: April 15, 2013
A glowing bubble of gas, called a planetary nebula, surrounds a dying old star located 3,300 light-years away in this image captured by the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Credit: Courtesy of the European Southern Observatory
For an elderly star?s last gasp, it belches a gassy bubble that shines like a Day-Glo balloon. Using the Very Large Telescope in Chile, scientists at the European Southern Observatory snapped a picture of one dying star?s shimmering shell: a planetary nebula dubbed IC 1295.
The distant, old star ? located about 3,300 light-years away in the constellation Scutum ? is probably billions of years old. But on a human scale, it still has a lot of life to live. The old-timer?s colorful orb will twinkle for at least 10,000 more years.
Depending on which chemicals form the gaseous shell, a star?s planetary nebula can glimmer a rainbow of candy-colored hues. For this nebula, oxygen paints the bubble a brilliant glowing green.
Suggested Reading
N. Drake. Diet of a dying star. Science News. Vol.181, February 11, 2012, p. 8. Available online: [Go to]
European Southern Observatory: [Go to]
Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/349664/title/News_in_Brief_Dying_star_goes_out_in_style
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