He2-90
Astronomers using NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have stumbled upon a mysterious object that is grudgingly yielding clues to its identity. A quick glance at the Hubble picture at top shows that this celestial body, called He2-90, looks like a young, dust-enshrouded star with narrow jets of material streaming from each side. But it's not. The object is classified as a planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a dying, lightweight star. But the Hubble observations suggest that it may not fit that classification, either.
Credit:NASA/ESA, Raghvendra Sahai (NASA/ESA Jet Propulsion Laboratory), Lars-Ake Nyman (European Southern Observatory, Chile & Onsala Space Observatory, Sweden).
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
Id: | opo0024a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 31 August 2000, 07:00 |
Size: | 3000 x 2400 px |
About the Object
Name: | He2-90 |
Type: | Unspecified |
Category: | Miscellaneous Stars |