by bystander » Mon Mar 25, 2013 3:09 pm
Masquerading as a Double Star
ESA/HEIC Hubble Picture of the Week | 2013 Mar 25
The object in this image is
Jonckheere 900 or J 900, a planetary nebula — glowing shells of ionised gas pushed out by a dying star. Discovered in the early 1900s by astronomer Robert Jonckheere, the dusty nebula is small but fairly bright, with a relatively evenly spread central region surrounded by soft wispy edges.
Despite the clarity of this Hubble image, the two objects in the picture above can be confusing for observers. J 900’s nearby companion, a faint star in the constellation of Gemini, often causes problems for observers because it is so close to the nebula — when seeing conditions are bad, this star seems to merge into J 900, giving it an elongated appearance. Hubble’s position above the Earth’s atmosphere means that this is not an issue for the space telescope.
Astronomers have also mistakenly reported observations of a double star in place of these two objects, as the planetary nebula is quite small and compact.
J 900’s central star is only just visible in this image, and is very faint — fainter than the nebula’s neighbour. The nebula appears to display a bipolar structure, where there are two distinct lobes of material emanating from its centre, enclosed by a bright oval disc.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Josh Barrington.
Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble
Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington
Zoomable Image
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[url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1312a/][size=120][b][i]Masquerading as a Double Star[/i][/b][/size][/url]
ESA/HEIC Hubble Picture of the Week | 2013 Mar 25
[quote]
[float=right][img3=""]http://www.spacetelescope.org/static/archives/images/screen/potw1312a.jpg[/img3][hr][/hr][/float]The object in this image is [url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=Jonckheere+900][b]Jonckheere 900[/b][/url] or J 900, a planetary nebula — glowing shells of ionised gas pushed out by a dying star. Discovered in the early 1900s by astronomer Robert Jonckheere, the dusty nebula is small but fairly bright, with a relatively evenly spread central region surrounded by soft wispy edges.
Despite the clarity of this Hubble image, the two objects in the picture above can be confusing for observers. J 900’s nearby companion, a faint star in the constellation of Gemini, often causes problems for observers because it is so close to the nebula — when seeing conditions are bad, this star seems to merge into J 900, giving it an elongated appearance. Hubble’s position above the Earth’s atmosphere means that this is not an issue for the space telescope.
Astronomers have also mistakenly reported observations of a double star in place of these two objects, as the planetary nebula is quite small and compact.
J 900’s central star is only just visible in this image, and is very faint — fainter than the nebula’s neighbour. The nebula appears to display a bipolar structure, where there are two distinct lobes of material emanating from its centre, enclosed by a bright oval disc.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Josh Barrington.
[b][i]Credit: NASA/ESA/Hubble
Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington[/i][/b]
[url=http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1312a/zoomable/][b][i]Zoomable Image[/i][/b][/url] [/quote]
[url=http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=30973][size=85][b][i]<< Previous ESA/HEIC Hubble POTW[/i][/b][/size][/url]