Ants in Space?
From ground-based telescopes, the so-called "ant nebula" (Menzel 3, or Mz 3) resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant. This dramatic NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, showing 10 times more detail, reveals the "ant's" body as a pair of fiery lobes protruding from a dying, Sun-like star.
The Hubble images directly challenge old ideas about the last stages in the lives of stars. By observing Sun-like stars as they approach their deaths, the Hubble Heritage image of Mz 3 - along with pictures of other planetary nebulae - shows that our Sun's fate probably will be more interesting, complex, and striking than astronomers imagined just a few years ago.
Credit:
About the Image
| Id: | heic0101a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 1 February 2001, 15:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0101 |
| Size: | 1072 x 708 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Ant Nebula, Menzel 3, PN Mz 3 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary • Nebulae Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 8000 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical Oiii |
502 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical H-alpha |
656 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical Nii |
658 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical Sii |
673 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
Images
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