Explanation: As stars age, they throw off their outer layers. Sometimes a highly symmetric gaseous planetary nebula is created, as is the case in M2-9, also called the Butterfly. Most planetary nebulae show this bipolar appearance, although some appear nearly spherical. An unusual characteristic of the Butterfly is that spots on the "wings" appear to have moved slightly over the years. The above picture was taken in three bands of infrared light and computationally shifted into the visible. Much remains unknown about planetary nebulae, including why some appear symmetric, what creates the knots of emission (some known as FLIERS), and how exactly stars create them.

<<  Oktyabr'  >> Pn Vt Sr Cht Pt Sb Vs     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31     1995   1996   1997 1998   1999   2000 2001   2002   2003 2004   2005   2006 2007   2008   2009 2010   2011   2012 2013   2014   2015 2016   2017   2018 2019   2020   2021 2022   2023   2024

Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr'

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami: planetary nebula - butterfly nebula - Planetarnaya tumannost' - Evolyuciya zvezd - infrakrasnoe izluchenie Publikacii so slovami: planetary nebula - butterfly nebula - Planetarnaya tumannost' - Evolyuciya zvezd - infrakrasnoe izluchenie
Sm. takzhe: Tumannost' Meduza M27: eto ne kometa Dzhons-Emberson-1 Kol'ca vokrug tumannosti Kol'co HFG1 i Eibell 6: planetarnye tumannosti NGC 2440: kokon novogo belogo karlika MyCn 18: planetarnaya tumannost' Pesochnye Chasy Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >>