NGC 1360：知更鸟蛋星云
(原标题: NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula)
2023-08-05
浏览次数: 15
这个美丽的星云位于1500光年之外，在这张望远镜照片中，它的形状和颜色让人想起知更鸟的蛋。这片宇宙云的跨度约为3光年，安全地坐落在南部天炉座的边界内。虽然被认为是行星状星云，但蛋形的NGC 1360并不代表一个开始。相反，它对应的是一颗老化恒星演化过程中短暂而最后的阶段。事实上，在星云的中心可以看到，NGC 1360的中心恒星是一个双星系统，可能由两颗进化的白矮星组成，质量比太阳小，但温度比太阳高得多。它们强烈的、不可见的紫外线辐射已经从它们相互包围的气体保护罩中的原子中剥离了电子。NGC 1360主要的蓝绿色色调是电子与双电离氧原子重新结合时产生的强辐射。
查看原文解释
This pretty nebula lies some 1,500 light-years away, its shape and color in this telescopic view reminiscent of a robin's egg. The cosmic cloud spans about 3 light-years, nestled securely within the boundaries of the southern constellation Fornax. Recognized as a planetary nebula, egg-shaped NGC 1360 doesn't represent a beginning though. Instead it corresponds to a brief and final phase in the evolution of an aging star. In fact, visible at the center of the nebula, the central star of NGC 1360 is known to be a binary star system likely consisting of two evolved white dwarf stars, less massive but much hotter than the Sun. Their intense and otherwise invisible ultraviolet radiation has stripped away electrons from the atoms in their mutually surrounding gaseous shroud. The predominant blue-green hue of NGC 1360 seen here is the strong emission produced as electrons recombine with doubly ionized oxygen atoms.
© Dong Liang