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Hubble's Crystal Clear Egg Nebula View
10 Feb
Summary
- Hubble captures the clearest view of the Egg Nebula, 3,000 light-years away.
- The nebula's name comes from its star hidden by gas and dust.
- Concentric rings suggest successive bursts of gas ejected from the star.
The Hubble Space Telescope has delivered its most detailed image to date of the Egg Nebula, a cosmic formation approximately 3,000 light-years away. This nebula is aptly named for its dense shroud of gas and dust surrounding a central star.
The newly released photograph showcases the intricate structure of the Egg Nebula, highlighting four distinct beams of starlight escaping from its central shell. These beams illuminate striking concentric rings of gas, arranged in a ripple-like pattern.
Astronomers interpret this pattern as evidence of the star periodically expelling material in successive bursts over thousands of years. Fast-moving outflows of hot molecular hydrogen are also visible on either side of the disc-like cloud, with orange hues indicating infrared light emission.
Discovered in 1975 within the constellation Cygnus, the Egg Nebula represents a rare preplanetary phase in stellar evolution. Such nebulae are difficult to observe due to their short duration and faintness. By comparing this latest Hubble image with previous observations, scientists aim to gain deeper insights into its formation and processes.
