《猫眼的光环
(原标题: Halo of the Cat's Eye)
2022-08-03
浏览次数: 15
是什么造成了猫眼星云周围不寻常的光环？没人能确定。可以肯定的是，猫眼星云（NGC 6543）是天空中最著名的行星状星云之一。虽然在明亮的中心区域可以看到令人难以忘怀的对称性，但这张照片拍摄的是其结构复杂的外晕，其跨度超过3光年。长期以来，行星状星云一直被认为是类太阳恒星生命的最后阶段。然而，直到最近，一些行星才被发现有膨胀的光晕，可能是由恒星早期令人困惑的演化过程中脱落的物质形成的。虽然行星状星云的阶段被认为持续了大约1万年，但天文学家估计猫眼星云光环的外层丝状部分的年龄为5万到9万年。
查看原文解释
What created the unusual halo around the Cat's Eye nebula? No one is sure. What is sure is that the Cat's Eye Nebula (NGC 6543) is one of the best known planetary nebulae on the sky. Although haunting symmetries are seen in the bright central region, this image was taken to feature its intricately structured outer halo, which spans over three light-years across. Planetary nebulae have long been appreciated as a final phase in the life of a Sun-like star. Only recently however, have some planetaries been found to have expansive halos, likely formed from material shrugged off during earlier puzzling episodes in the star's evolution. While the planetary nebula phase is thought to last for around 10,000 years, astronomers estimate the age of the outer filamentary portions of the Cat's Eye Nebula's halo to be 50,000 to 90,000 years.
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