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NASA has released a spectacular photo taken by the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the planetary nebula ESO 455-10.
This Hubble image shows ESO 455-10, a planetary nebula located in the constellation Scorpio. The color image is composed of near infrared and optical observations from the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Four filters were used to sample different wavelengths. Color results from assigning different tints to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image Credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Stanghellini.
Planetary nebulae are a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding shell of gas ejected from stars at the end of their life.
These objects generally measure no more than a light-year in diameter, and form at the end of the life of a star of intermediate mass, between 1 and 8 times that of the Sun.
They have a relatively round compact appearance rather than the chaotic and uneven shapes of other nebulae – hence their name, which was given due to their resemblance to planetary discs when viewed with instruments of the late 1700s, when the first planetary nebulae were discovered.
Planetary nebulae are believed to be crucial in galactic enrichment as they distribute their elements, especially the heavier metallic elements produced inside a star, into the interstellar medium that will eventually form the next generation of stars. .
There are approximately 20,000 planetary nebulae in our Milky Way galaxy. Most of them are concentrated towards the plane of the Milky Way’s disk, but a few are also known to exist in the halo and bulge.
ESO 455-10, also known as IRAS 17277-3058, is one of these planetary nebulae, located in the constellation Scorpio.
“The flattened shells of the ESO 455-10, previously held tightly together as layers of its central star, not only give this planetary nebula its unique appearance, but also provide information about the nebula,” astronomers from Hubble.
“Seen in a star field, the distinct asymmetric arc of material on the north side of the nebula is a clear sign of the interactions between ESO 455-10 and the interstellar medium.”
“The interstellar medium is the material – made up of matter and radiation – between star systems and galaxies,” they explained.
“The star in the center of ESO 455-10 allows Hubble to see the interaction with gas and dust from the nebula, the surrounding interstellar medium, and the light from the star itself.
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