Turtle in Space Describes New Hubble Image

October 22, 1998 12:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 1998-36
Turtle in Space Describes New Hubble Image

Summary

The Hubble telescope has shown us that the shrouds of gas surrounding dying, Sun-like stars (called planetary nebulae) come in a variety of strange shapes, from an "hourglass" to a "butterfly" to a "stingray."

With this image of NGC 6210, the Hubble telescope has added another bizarre form to the rogues' gallery of planetary nebulae: a turtle swallowing a seashell. Giving this dying star such a weird name is less of a challenge than trying to figure out how dying stars create those unusual shapes. The larger image shows the entire nebula; the inset picture captures the complicated structure surrounding the dying star.

Full Article

Share This Page

Images

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google

Contact our News Team 

Contact our Outreach Office