Hubble Telescope witnesses ‘very strange’ rapid demise of Stingray Nebula



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Hubble observations of the Stingray Nebula in 1996 and 2016 show the dramatic changes in glowing gases.

NASA, ESA, B. Balick (University of Washington), M. Guerrero (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía) and G. Ramos-Larios (University of Guadalajara)

In a universe where processes are often measured in millions and billions of years, the Hubble Space Telescope has witnessed something extraordinary in just two decades. The Stringray Nebula went from bright in 1996 to fading in 2016, as if left hanging from a cosmic drying line.

Stingray, more officially known as Hen 3-1357, was hailed as the youngest known planetary nebula when it was first noticed. The nebula formed during the star’s end of life when it ejected incandescent gases that gave it a shape similar to that of a sea animal.

What’s so crazy about the nebula is the drastic transformation it has undergone in such a short time. “Changes like this have never been captured with this clarity before,” NASA said in a statement Thursday, calling it “a rare look at a shroud of rapidly fading gas around a star aging “.

NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) jointly operate Hubble. Astronomers are taking note of what the two agencies described as “unprecedented” changes. The nebula was emitting a lot of nitrogen (red), hydrogen (blue), and oxygen (green), which gave it its distinct shape and glow in the original image.

“It’s very, very dramatic and very strange,” said Martín Guerrero, a member of the Hubble team at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía in Spain. “What we are seeing is the evolution of a nebula in real time.”

The culprit is probably the central star inside the nebula, which has experienced a rapid increase in heat followed by a cooling phase. It looks like Hubble was lucky enough to take the footage when he captured a before and after view of the nebula’s wild swing. At this rate, NASA estimates it might be barely detectable in a few decades.

From NASA Hubble Twitter account jumped on the “How it started / How’s it going” meme with the before and after images of the nebula.

Despite being in orbit for 30 years, Hubble continues to feed us with incredible cosmic discoveries, heartbreaking views of the distant universe at beautiful portraits of Jupiter.



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