Meet Jupiter's Ghost. This is the remaining of a star that was once quite similar to our sun. It is about 3000 Light Years away. This star goes through its death throes.
Not all starts go supernova when they die. Our sun is not big enough to go supernova. Stars with masses from 0.8 to 8 times that of our sun gradually expand releasing layers of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases in the surrounding space. Gradually a nebula appears around the core of the star.
The image reveals how mighty winds released by the dying star 13 the white dwarf star at the centre 13 are shaping the double-shell structure of the nebula. The blue glow filling the inner bubble represents X-ray emission from hot gas, heated up to over two million degrees by shocks in the fast stellar winds, gusting at about 2400 km/s against the ambient gas.
The green glow marks cooler concentrations of gas seen in optical light through the emission of oxygen, revealing the edge of the inner shell in contrast to the more diffuse gas making up the outer shell. The two flame-shaped features, visible in red to the upper right and lower left of the inner bubble, are pockets of even cooler gas, seen also in optical light through the emission of nitrogen. |
Image: esa |
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