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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
The Helix Nebula from La Silla Observatory
Explanation: Will our Sun look like this one day? The Helix Nebula is one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula , a gas cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The outer gasses of the star expelled into space appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a helix . The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a white dwarf star , glows in light so energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce . The Helix Nebula , given a technical designation of NGC 7293 , lies about 700 light-years away towards the constellation of Aquarius and spans about 2.5 light-years. The above picture was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the 2.2-meter Telescope at the European Southern Observatory 's La Silla Observatory . A close-up of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows complex gas knots of unknown origin .
| Date | March 3, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: WFI , MPG/ESO 2.2-m Telescope , La Silla Obs. , ESO |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |