by APOD Robot » Fri Mar 25, 2022 4:05 am
The Medusa Nebula
Explanation: Braided and serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old
planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Like its
mythological namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The
planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in
the evolution of low mass stars like the sun as they transform themselves from
red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet
radiation from the hot star powers the nebular glow. The Medusa's transforming star is the faint one near the center of the overall bright crescent shape. In
this deep telescopic view, fainter filaments clearly extend above and left of the bright crescent region. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over
4 light-years across.
[url=https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220325.html] [img]https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/S_220325.jpg[/img] [size=150]The Medusa Nebula[/size][/url]
[b] Explanation: [/b] Braided and serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old [url=https://www.messier.seds.org/planetar.html]planetary nebula[/url] some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Like its [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa]mythological[/url] namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula]planetary nebula[/url] phase represents a final stage in [url=http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/StevI.html]the evolution[/url] of low mass stars like the sun as they transform themselves from [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_giant]red giants[/url] to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet [url=http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/ems1.html]radiation[/url] from the hot star powers the nebular glow. The Medusa's transforming star is the faint one near the center of the overall bright crescent shape. In [url=https://www.astrobin.com/xbzfd8/]this deep telescopic view[/url], fainter filaments clearly extend above and left of the bright crescent region. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over [url=https://www.nasa.gov/content/discoveries-hubbles-nebulae]4 light-years across[/url].
[table][tr][td=left][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220324][b]<< Previous APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=center][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/view_retro.php?date=0325][b]This Day in APOD[/b][/url][/td] [td=right][url=https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=220326][b]Next APOD >>[/b][/url][/td][/tr][/table]