Comments and questions about the
APOD on the main view screen.
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APOD Robot
- Otto Posterman
- Posts: 5493
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Contact:
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by APOD Robot » Sun Jan 07, 2024 5:05 am
The Cat's Eye Nebula in Optical and X-ray
Explanation: To some it looks like a cat's eye. To others, perhaps like a giant cosmic
conch shell. It is actually one of the brightest and most highly detailed
planetary nebula known, composed of gas expelled in the brief yet glorious phase near the end of life of a Sun-like star.
This nebula's dying central star may have produced the outer circular
concentric shells by
shrugging off
outer layers in a series of regular convulsions. The
formation of the beautiful, complex-yet-symmetric
inner structures, however, is
not well understood. The
featured image is a composite of a digitally sharpened
Hubble Space Telescope image with
X-ray light
captured by the orbiting
Chandra Observatory. The exquisite floating space statue spans over half a
light-year across. Of course,
gazing into this Cat's Eye, humanity may well be seeing the fate of our sun, destined to enter its own
planetary nebula phase of evolution ... in
about 5 billion years.
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alex555
Post
by alex555 » Sun Jan 07, 2024 11:17 am
When we think that this magnificent image also contains the end of an immensity of things which happened while this star had its procession of planets and perhaps also hundreds of millions of years of memories of living beings, under one form or another, and now dispersed.
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AVAO
- Commander
- Posts: 637
- Joined: Tue May 28, 2019 12:24 pm
- AKA: multiwavelength traveller
- Location: Zurich, Switzerland
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by AVAO » Sun Jan 07, 2024 1:41 pm
It is interesting to compare the HST image with JWST (growing of 15 years difference) ...
and I like Webbles
![Smile :-)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
(@Ann: ...even if colors come out wrong)
Original data: NASA/ESA/CSA (HST/JWST) jac berne (flickr)
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CaptainRoll
Post
by CaptainRoll » Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:02 pm
The fate of this planet and solar system in about 5 billion years; LOL. It would be interesting to see the solar system we live in overlaid (in scale) on this image. The distance between objects when talking X light-years is just hard to comprehend.
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Christian G.
- Science Officer
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- Joined: Sat Apr 08, 2023 10:37 pm
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by Christian G. » Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:39 pm
Stars are utterly beautiful from birth to death, and on top of it their atomic legacy as they die is full of promise for future worlds!
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Chris Peterson
- Abominable Snowman
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by Chris Peterson » Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:56 pm
CaptainRoll wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:02 pm
The fate of this planet and solar system in about 5 billion years; LOL. It would be interesting to see the solar system we live in overlaid (in scale) on this image. The distance between objects when talking X light-years is just hard to comprehend.
This object is about the same size as the Solar System, with its outer edge located somewhere in our Oort Cloud, were they overlaid. Earth, of course, at this scale, isn't visually separable from the center star.
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johnnydeep
- Commodore
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- Joined: Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:57 pm
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by johnnydeep » Sun Jan 07, 2024 3:35 pm
Looks a bit like a
Phlox flower to me.
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}
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zendae1
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by zendae1 » Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:22 pm
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 3:35 pm
Looks a bit like a
Phlox flower to me.
lol...
And to a horticultural guy like me, it begs a question I have never ever considered before: Are celestial phenomenon fragrant?
![:) :ssmile:](./images/smilies/smile.gif)
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Chris Peterson
- Abominable Snowman
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by Chris Peterson » Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:36 pm
zendae1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:22 pm
And to a horticultural guy like me, it begs a question I have never ever considered before: Are celestial phenomenon fragrant?
Well, the seventh planet certainly has a reputation...
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zendae1
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by zendae1 » Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:40 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:36 pm
zendae1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:22 pm
And to a horticultural guy like me, it begs a question I have never ever considered before: Are celestial phenomenon fragrant?
Well, the seventh planet certainly has a reputation...
And it's still waiting for that cosmic bidet...
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Fred the Cat
- Theoretic Apothekitty
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- AKA: Ron
- Location: Eagle, Idaho
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by Fred the Cat » Sun Jan 07, 2024 6:12 pm
zendae1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:40 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:36 pm
zendae1 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 4:22 pm
And to a horticultural guy like me, it begs a question I have never ever considered before: Are celestial phenomenon fragrant? :s
Well, the seventh planet certainly has a reputation...
And it's still waiting for that cosmic bidet...
I find it
illuminating that jets may arise from different astronomic objects but seem to have the same
mechanism – star birth to death.
But, like a
cat chasing its own
tail, the
tip-off is just out of reach.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
The bidet metaphor might be on the right
tail.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Freddy's Felicity "Only ascertain as a cat box survivor"
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johnnydeep
- Commodore
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by johnnydeep » Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:10 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:56 pm
CaptainRoll wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:02 pm
The fate of this planet and solar system in about 5 billion years; LOL. It would be interesting to see the solar system we live in overlaid (in scale) on this image. The distance between objects when talking X light-years is just hard to comprehend.
This object is about the same size as the Solar System, with its outer edge located somewhere in our Oort Cloud, were they overlaid. Earth, of course, at this scale, isn't visually separable from the center star.
Here's some context:
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}
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Chris Peterson
- Abominable Snowman
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by Chris Peterson » Sun Jan 07, 2024 10:12 pm
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:10 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:56 pm
CaptainRoll wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:02 pm
The fate of this planet and solar system in about 5 billion years; LOL. It would be interesting to see the solar system we live in overlaid (in scale) on this image. The distance between objects when talking X light-years is just hard to comprehend.
This object is about the same size as the Solar System, with its outer edge located somewhere in our Oort Cloud, were they overlaid. Earth, of course, at this scale, isn't visually separable from the center star.
Here's some context:
solar system over cays eye.jpg
Which also reveals the size of the Solar System in comparison with the orbits of the planets... the outer edge of the Oort cloud extends nearly to Alpha Centauri, well outside the green circle!
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johnnydeep
- Commodore
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Post
by johnnydeep » Sun Jan 07, 2024 10:16 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 10:12 pm
johnnydeep wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 9:10 pm
Chris Peterson wrote: ↑Sun Jan 07, 2024 2:56 pm
This object is about the same size as the Solar System, with its outer edge located somewhere in our Oort Cloud, were they overlaid. Earth, of course, at this scale, isn't visually separable from the center star.
Here's some context:
solar system over cays eye.jpg
Which also reveals the size of the Solar System in comparison with the orbits of the planets... the outer edge of the Oort cloud extends nearly to Alpha Centauri, well outside the green circle!
Indeed - note the logarithmic distance scale:
--
"To B̬̻̋̚o̞̮̚̚l̘̲̀᷾d̫͓᷅ͩḷ̯᷁ͮȳ͙᷊͠ Go......Beyond The F͇̤i̙̖e̤̟l̡͓d͈̹s̙͚ We Know."{ʲₒʰₙNYᵈₑᵉₚ}
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CaptainRoll
Post
by CaptainRoll » Tue Jan 09, 2024 12:54 pm
Thanks for the explanation and responses. Daily APOD images are amazing to say the least.