Hubble captures the consequences of the death of a star

This beautiful distinctive object captured by the Hubble Space Telescope is a planetary nebula called NGC 2371/2, located in the constellation Gemini (The Twins). It has an unusual name because of its unusual shape – when astronomers studied the nebula for the first time, they thought it was two different structures. It has been named NGC 2371 and NGC 2372.

However, the object is actually a singular nebula with two distinct lobes. As we discussed last week, a planetary nebula, despite its name, actually has nothing to do with the planets. Instead, it is a gas bubble that is pushed into space by a dying star.

In the case of NGC 2371/2, it's formed when a star similar to our sun has reached the end of its life. In his last stages of life as a red giant, he threw out his outer layers of gas. The gas was pushed outward as the material contained in the bubble was consumed, leaving only a gas shell around the rest of the star. The rest is visible in the center of the image: the bright star between the two lobes. This remains is still extremely hot, at an altitude of 134,000 degrees Celsius (240,000 degrees Fahrenheit).

According to Hubble scientists, the rest of the structure of the planetary nebula is complex. It is "filled with dense knots of gas, fast jets that seem to change direction with time and clouds of expanding matter that flow outward on the diametrically opposite sides of the planet." 39, star remaining.

Parts of the structure are illuminated by the radiation emitted by the remaining star. As it is very hot, the rest pump the ultraviolet light, which ionizes the gases of the hull and makes them shine, thus creating distinctive patterns and colors.

The complex structure will not last forever, however. Over the next few thousand years, the residue will gradually cool down, losing heat until it becomes a white dwarf. When this happens, the lobes stop shining and gradually fade away in the darkness of space.

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