HST_v_c_o_KPP (KSC-96PC-229, STScI-PRC96-05)
“SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE -- HUBBLE TELESCOPE REVEALS STELLAR DEATH PROCESS -- This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of planetary nebula NGC 7027 shows remarkable new details of the process by which a star like the Sun dies.
New features include: faint, blue, concentric shells surrounding the nebula; and extensive network of red dust clouds throughout the bright inner region; and the hot central white dwarf, visible as a white dot at the center.
The nebula is a record of the star’s final death throes. Initially the ejection of the star's outer layers, when it was at its red giant stage of evolution, occurred at a low rate and was spherical. The Hubble photo reveals that the initial ejections occurred episodically to produce the concentric shells. This culminated in a vigorous ejection of all of the remaining outer layers, which produced the bright inner regions. At this later stage the ejection was non-spherical, and dense clouds of dust condensed from the ejected material.
When a star like the Sun nears the end of its life, it expands to more than 50 times its original diameter, becoming a red giant star. Then its outer layers are ejected into space, exposing the small, extremely hot core of the star, which cools off to become a white dwarf. Although stars like the Sun can live for up to 10 billion years before becoming a red giant and ejecting a nebula, the actual ejection process takes only a few thousand years.
The NGC 7027 photograph is a composite of two Hubble images, taken in visible and infrared light, and is shown in "pseudo-color.
Credit: H. Bond (STScI) and NASA”
hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/1996/05/395-Image.html
Credit: HUBBLESITE website
astroa.physics.metu.edu.tr/Astronom/PN/NGC7027.HTM
Credit: Middle East Technical University/Astrophysics-Physics Department website
apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960117.html
Credit: Astronomy Picture of the Day website
HST_v_c_o_KPP (KSC-96PC-229, STScI-PRC96-05)
“SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE INSTITUTE -- HUBBLE TELESCOPE REVEALS STELLAR DEATH PROCESS -- This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of planetary nebula NGC 7027 shows remarkable new details of the process by which a star like the Sun dies.
New features include: faint, blue, concentric shells surrounding the nebula; and extensive network of red dust clouds throughout the bright inner region; and the hot central white dwarf, visible as a white dot at the center.
The nebula is a record of the star’s final death throes. Initially the ejection of the star's outer layers, when it was at its red giant stage of evolution, occurred at a low rate and was spherical. The Hubble photo reveals that the initial ejections occurred episodically to produce the concentric shells. This culminated in a vigorous ejection of all of the remaining outer layers, which produced the bright inner regions. At this later stage the ejection was non-spherical, and dense clouds of dust condensed from the ejected material.
When a star like the Sun nears the end of its life, it expands to more than 50 times its original diameter, becoming a red giant star. Then its outer layers are ejected into space, exposing the small, extremely hot core of the star, which cools off to become a white dwarf. Although stars like the Sun can live for up to 10 billion years before becoming a red giant and ejecting a nebula, the actual ejection process takes only a few thousand years.
The NGC 7027 photograph is a composite of two Hubble images, taken in visible and infrared light, and is shown in "pseudo-color.
Credit: H. Bond (STScI) and NASA”
hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/1996/05/395-Image.html
Credit: HUBBLESITE website
astroa.physics.metu.edu.tr/Astronom/PN/NGC7027.HTM
Credit: Middle East Technical University/Astrophysics-Physics Department website
apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap960117.html
Credit: Astronomy Picture of the Day website