NGC 7293：螺旋星云
(原标题: NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula)
2022-12-07
浏览次数: 15
在距地球仅700光年的水瓶座方向，一颗类似太阳的恒星正在死亡。这颗垂死的恒星在最后的几千年里产生了螺旋星云（NGC 7293），这是一个被充分研究的行星状星云的例子，是恒星演化最后阶段的典型。结合来自红色氢原子发射线和蓝绿色氧原子发射线的窄带图像数据，它展示了螺旋的诱人细节，包括其明亮的内部区域，直径约为3光年。螺旋中心的白点是行星状星云中心的炽热恒星。第一眼看上去很简单的星云，螺旋星云现在被理解为具有令人惊讶的复杂几何结构。
查看原文解释
A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, toward the constellation Aquarius, a sun-like star is dying. The dying star's last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. Combining narrow band image data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms in red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues, it shows tantalizing details of the Helix, including its bright inner region about 3 light-years across. The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot, central star. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry.
© Tommaso Stella