来自CFHT的螺旋星云
(原标题: The Helix Nebula from CFHT)
2023-05-07
浏览次数: 20
我们的太阳有一天会变成这样吗？螺旋星云是行星状星云中最明亮、离我们最近的一个例子。行星状星云是一颗类太阳恒星生命结束时形成的气体云。从我们的有利位置来看，这颗恒星的外层气体被喷射到太空中，就好像我们正俯视着一个螺旋。残余的中央恒星核心，注定要成为一颗白矮星，它发出的光能量如此之大，以至于之前释放的气体发出荧光。螺旋星云，技术名称为NGC 7293，距离水瓶座约700光年，跨度约2.5光年。这张特色照片是由位于美国夏威夷一座休眠火山顶部的加拿大-法国-夏威夷望远镜（CFHT）拍摄的。螺旋星云内缘的特写显示了来历不明的复杂气体结。
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Will our Sun look like this one day? The Helix Nebula is one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula, a gas cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The outer gasses of the star expelled into space appear from our vantage point as if we are looking down a helix. The remnant central stellar core, destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so energetic it causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce. The Helix Nebula, given a technical designation of NGC 7293, lies about 700 light-years away towards the constellation of the Water Bearer (Aquarius) and spans about 2.5 light-years. The featured picture was taken with the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) located atop a dormant volcano in Hawaii, USA. A close-up of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows complex gas knots of unknown origin.