The Calabash clash
The Calabash Nebula, pictured here — which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 — is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun. This image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space. The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed — the gas shown in yellow is moving close to a million kilometres an hour.
Astronomers rarely capture a star in this phase of its evolution because it occurs within the blink of an eye — in astronomical terms. Over the next thousand years the nebula is expected to evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula.
The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula because it contains a lot of sulphur, an element that, when combined with other elements, smells like a rotten egg — but luckily, it resides over 5000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis (The Poop deck).
Credit:
ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
About the Image
Id: | potw1705a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 30 January 2017, 06:00 |
Size: | 782 x 718 px |
About the Object
Name: | Calabash Nebula, OH 231.84 +4.22 |
Type: | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary |
Distance: | 5000 light years |
Constellation: | Puppis |
Category: | Nebulae |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 7 42 16.61 |
Position (Dec): | -14° 42' 58.66" |
Field of view: | 1.17 x 1.08 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 45.9° left of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical H-Alpha | 656 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC2 |
Optical V | 606 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical V | 657 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Optical N II | 658 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Optical i | 791 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
Infrared H | 1.6 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Infrared Fe II -continuum | 1.668 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Infrared J | 1.15 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Infrared Fe II | 1.646 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |