NGC 7293：螺旋星云
(原标题: NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula)
2024-10-24
浏览次数: 18
在距地球仅700光年的水瓶座，有一颗恒星正在死亡。这颗曾经类似太阳的恒星在过去的几千年里产生了螺旋星云。宇宙螺旋星云也被称为NGC 7293，它是一个被充分研究过的行星状星云，是恒星演化最后阶段的典型例子。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数据，这张深度图像显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炽热、垂死的中心恒星。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。
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A mere seven hundred light years from Earth toward the constellation Aquarius, a star is dying. The once sun-like star's last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula. Also known as NGC 7293, the cosmic Helix is a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. Combining narrow band data from emission lines of hydrogen atoms in red and oxygen atoms in blue-green hues, this deep image 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, dying central star. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry.
© Patrick Winkler