Cometary Knots around a Dying Star
These gigantic, tadpole-shaped objects are probably the result of a dying star's last gasps. Dubbed 'cometary knots' because their glowing heads and gossamer tails resemble comets, the gaseous objects probably were formed during a star's final stages of life.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo9613b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 15 April 1996, 06:00 |
| Size: | 502 x 656 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 |
| Type: | • Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary |
| Distance: | 700 light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
500 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical H-alpha |
656 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Optical Nii |
658 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
