To celebrate the 34th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers took a snapshot of the Little Dumbbell Nebula, located 3,400 light-years from Earth in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus. (NASA, ESA, STScI)
[The Epoch Times, April 26, 2024](Comprehensive report by Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu) The Hubble Space Telescope captured stunning new images of a dying star ejecting luminous gas, which looks like a “cosmic dumbbell” . New images may show the star devouring another star in a form of stellar cannibalism before collapsing.
Astronomers are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope by taking this image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula. Hubble has made 1.6 million observations, resulting in more than 44,000 scientific papers published by researchers. On April 23, NASA released this image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Messier 76 or M76, Little Dumbbell Nebula).
This nebula is located in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus, 3,400 light-years from Earth. It is an expanding shell of gas ejected by a dying red giant star. This cosmic object is called a planetary nebula, but it has nothing to do with a planet.
Planetary nebulae, which typically have a circular structure, are so named because they originally resembled the disks from which planets formed when they were first discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier in 1764. Pierre Méchain, also a French astronomer, discovered the Little Dumbbell Nebula in 1780. The astronomers studied the Little Dumbbell Nebula and made a detailed view in 1891. Since then, the nebula has been a favorite among professional and amateur astronomers alike due to its unique shape.
If researchers confirm that the nebula holds evidence of a cosmic cannibalism event, it could provide evidence of the existence of a long-term theoretical companion to a red giant.
To watch NASA’s video celebrating Hubble’s 34th birthday, click here.
‘Forensic evidence’ showing stellar violence
The Little Dumbbell Nebula consists of a ring-shaped structure (the central rod) and two lobes at the openings on either side of the ring. Before the aging red giant collapsed, it released a halo of gas and dust. Astronomers believe that the ring may have been formed by the action of a binary companion star, and the shed material formed a thick disk of dust and gas along the plane of the companion’s orbit.
This companion star once orbited the red giant star, but it is not visible in Hubble’s images. Astronomers believe the red giant star swallowed its companion star, and by studying the ring, they can tease out “forensic evidence” of this cosmic cannibalism, according to a release from NASA.
Since its collapse, the red giant has transformed into a dead stellar remnant called an ultracompact white dwarf. With a scorching temperature of 250,000 degrees Fahrenheit (138,871 degrees Celsius), this white dwarf is 24 times hotter than the surface of the sun, making it one of the hottest white dwarfs known.
White dwarfs are the bright white lights at the center of nebulae in Hubble images.
The two lobes seen in the image represent the escape of hot gas, which is being pushed through hurricane-like outflows of material from the dying star, tearing through space at 2 million miles per hour. This speed is enough to fly from the earth to the moon in just over 7 minutes.
This turbulent “stellar wind” is slamming into cooler, slower-moving gas ejected from the star’s early days, when it was still a red giant.
Ultraviolet radiation from hot stars causes the gas to emit different colors of light representing different elements, such as red for nitrogen and blue for oxygen.
Astronomers estimate that within 15,000 years, the nebula will disappear from the night sky as it continues to expand and become dimmer.
Hubble takes the public on a journey of exploration and discovery
The Little Dumbbell Nebula is just one of 53,000 objects observed by Hubble over its 34 years. To date, Hubble has made 1.6 million observations. Astronomers around the world rely on telescopes and their growing database to conduct research and publish new discoveries.
For more than three decades, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionized modern astronomy, benefiting astronomers and taking the public on a wondrous journey of exploration and discovery. Hubble dedicates a small portion of its precious observing time each year to capture special anniversary images, showcasing objects of particular beauty and significance.
According to a news release from NASA, “This space telescope is the most scientifically productive space-based astrophysics mission in NASA’s history.”
Now, the James Webb Space Telescope has supplemented Hubble’s findings. The Hubble and Webb space telescopes complement each other, collecting observations of different wavelengths of light to observe the universe more clearly and deeply, as astronomers try to unravel the mysteries of supernovae, distant galaxies, exoplanets and other bizarre phenomena on celestial bodies.
Editor in charge: Ye Ziwei#
Recommended reading:
Tags: Hubble Telescope captured spectacular Dumbbell Nebula celebrate years launch Universe Stars NASA
-
