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APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 3:51 am
by APOD Robot
Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula
Explanation: Why isn't this ant a big sphere?
Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our
Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is
streaming away create an
ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round?
Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the
magnetism of the star
visible above at the nebula's center. One possible answer is that
Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that
orbits close in to the bright star. A competing
hypothesis holds that the central star's own spin and
magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun,
astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space
ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own
Sun and
Earth.
[/b]
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 4:30 am
by tesla
Are we really observing what you see or just assuming what we think it must be? It is not gravity causing the effect, or a second star. It is a perfect example of a pinched Birkeland current stream. No crazy theories needed!
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 5:12 am
by Chris Peterson
tesla wrote:Are we really observing what you see or just assuming what we think it must be? It is not gravity causing the effect, or a second star. It is a perfect example of a pinched Birkeland current stream. No crazy theories needed!
Yours is the crazy theory. Utter nonsense. And there is no suggestion that the structure of this object is caused by gravity, at least not in any direct way.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 9:07 am
by wonderboy
This reminds me of the doomed star eta carinae. I take it this star is close to exploding too?
Paul
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 11:16 am
by Astronut
Giant ant?
Looks more like a pair of of cosmic Jellyfish butting heads, to me.
And just how is it that i caught The Ant Nebula with-in a minute of its being posted and there are already three responces and there is about a three hour difference between the first and the third?
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 1:48 pm
by jando35
What seems evident is that the gas outflow is ionised and is thrown out along the lines of a magnetic field. This suggests strongly to me that the first theory [a second dim - or dark? - mass is orbiting the the visible exploding star] is the most probable.
The real mystery is that this type of nebula is so uncommon.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 2:12 pm
by Chris Peterson
wonderboy wrote:This reminds me of the doomed star eta carinae. I take it this star is close to exploding too?
Appearances are deceiving- the two systems are very different. Eta Carina is a supermassive star, so it will end its life in a supernova. The nebula around it now is the product of a poorly understood stellar explosion that did not destroy the star- a sort of failed supernova. If the Ant Nebula progenitor is indeed Sun-like (which is by no means certain), it will not be massive enough to end its life in a supernova.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 6:39 pm
by DaveBone
Concerning Astronut's reply. I think it looks kinda like an ant; and your timing problem is most likely caused by having Charter as you cable provider. Charter appears to have several systems designed just to put glitches into your internet service, usually at the most inopportune time. Guess which cable provider I have
Dave
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 8:16 pm
by biddie67
I can't help but think of some more exotic possibilities (with absolutely noting but imagination to back them up) ... like an unexpected collision with a small roaming black hole or an unusually heavy concentration of dark energy/dark matter is interferring with the star ...
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:36 am
by HellCat
As crazy as it sounds, biddie may be on to something. The fact that it's not *perfectly* symmetrical should hold a clue as well. It looks too much like a cauliflower on the one end. Swallowed some gas giants?
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 3:53 am
by Chris Peterson
HellCat wrote:As crazy as it sounds, biddie may be on to something. The fact that it's not *perfectly* symmetrical should hold a clue as well. It looks too much like a cauliflower on the one end. Swallowed some gas giants?
The Universe is full of star systems that have similarly asymmetrical remnants. There is pretty good theory in place describing how this can happen- the key factor being that the systems are not spherically symmetric in the first place, either because of a single star's rotational axis, a companion star, or both. The exotic suggestions may in fact be possible, but they are unlikely, and not needed to explain the observed structure.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:14 am
by Phaeton
What does it look like when a Super Giant star encounters a young small black hole?
Why can't the bright star in the center of the Ant Nebula be a star a few hundred/thousand light years behind the Nebula and the light is simply shinning through? As I examine the image very closely, it looks like the star in the center actually is not in the center and is not part of the nebula at all.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:35 am
by BMAONE23
As I look at it, I see the central star truely sitting in the center of the mass. The difference that I see is likely caused by the orientation of presentation. Instead of being presented directly side on, the (image oriented) left side lobe is directed more towards us. This creates the appearance that the right lobe is smaller and forces the central star to appear slightly offset toward the right.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 4:36 am
by Chris Peterson
Phaeton wrote:What does it look like when a Super Giant star encounters a young small black hole?
Presumably it would be similar to what you'd see if it had a neutron star orbiting it. There's not a lot of difference between the two in terms of their gravitational effects on a companion.
Why can't the bright star in the center of the Ant Nebula be a star a few hundred/thousand light years behind the Nebula and the light is simply shinning through? As I examine the image very closely, it looks like the star in the center actually is not in the center and is not part of the nebula at all.
It looks like the center to me. Bipolar planetary nebulas always show a distinct central star; I can't see why this one would be any different.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:13 pm
by DavidLeodis
It's a fascinating image. I also liked the image brought up through the 'magnetic field' link in the explanation. That link brings up the APOD of June 29 1998 (titled 'Solar Magnetic Bananas') with its very odd looking image.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Wed Apr 28, 2010 12:08 am
by tesla
Chris Peterson wrote:tesla wrote:Are we really observing what you see or just assuming what we think it must be? It is not gravity causing the effect, or a second star. It is a perfect example of a pinched Birkeland current stream. No crazy theories needed!
Yours is the crazy theory. Utter nonsense. And there is no suggestion that the structure of this object is caused by gravity, at least not in any direct way.
We have hit a sore point indeed! Have a look at all the crazy theories that astronomers put forward without any proof, only assumptions. True scientific analysis looks at the observed facts not observed assumptions.
Remember the theory that comets were balls of ice?
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:01 pm
by totalcarpenter
What would happen if a planetoid plowed though the center of the star like a bullet though a water ballon?
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:14 pm
by stephen63
totalcarpenter wrote:What would happen if a planetoid plowed though the center of the star like a bullet though a water ballon?
Nothing.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:17 pm
by Chris Peterson
stephen63 wrote:totalcarpenter wrote:What would happen if a planetoid plowed though the center of the star like a bullet though a water ballon?
Nothing.
Nothing much.
Or quite a lot from the perspective of the planetoid! What happens to your car when you hit a gnat at 70 mph? What happens to the gnat?
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:03 pm
by Beyond
da-dut,da,da, daa-da-da-daa-da-daa-da.
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 4:28 pm
by neufer
Chris Peterson wrote:stephen63 wrote:totalcarpenter wrote:
What would happen if a planetoid plowed though the center of the star like a bullet though a water ballon?
Nothing.
Nothing much. Or quite a lot from the perspective of the planetoid!
What happens to your car when you hit a gnat at 70 mph? What happens to the gnat?
http://www.prestone.com/es/company/news/article/494?popup=1 wrote:
"Splatologist" Studies Insects Caught In Traffic
DANBURY, Conn., May 22, 2006 — By Mike Adamick, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
<<It's easy to identify bugs when they're flitting around flowers, buzzing your face or munching on your picnic. The rules are simple: Houseflies are black, bees are yellow and black, ladybugs are red and black, and cockroaches are just dis ... gust ...ing. But how do you identify them when they're plastered to your windshield?
Dr. Mark Hostetler has the answer. A professor of wildlife and conservation and author of "That Gunk on Your Car: A Unique Guide to Insects of North America," Hostetler is a self-professed "splatologist" who has made it his mission to unlock the secrets on your windshield.
A red splat, for instance, means your newly departed motoring buddy was a female bug -- most likely a mosquito. Large splats are typically moths or butterflies. Small splats are usually "no-see-ums." "There's a lot of variability in bugs -- the butterflies and moths come in all kinds of different sizes," Hostetler said. "If it's yellow or creamy in color ... it was a butterfly. And they tend to be dragged up the windshield because of their big wings."
Hostetler, who teaches at the University of Florida, got his start in splatology while on a road trip a decade ago. "I was at a gas station and this guy in a pickup truck that was covered in dead bugs turned to me and said, "What the blankety blank is all this?"" Hostetler said. "He asked the right person."
An entomologist -- or in professional circles, "bug guy" -- Hostetler determined the type of bugs stuck to the truck's grill: lovebugs. He also discovered a new way to get people interested in insects -- his passion. "They provide a service beyond just appearing on your windshield," Hostetler said. "They pollinate fruit and vegetables, for instance."
So he took a long road trip to study bugs and their impact on society, among other things. He stopped at 10 Greyhound bus depots and studied the grills and windows of more than 50 buses. "They're so big and flat that they got a lot of bugs," he said. "The night buses get hit a lot."
He also strapped a net to the roof of his car. After seeing a large splat, he would inspect the net to see what bounced off his windshield. This is what he discovered:
- Red splats are typically mosquitoes. Only female mosquitoes eat blood, so a red stain on your windshield offers an important clue.
Yellow or creamy spots that slide upward are typically butterflies or moths. Look for fluttering scales or powder, he said.
Lovebugs love exhaust pipes, which smell like perfect places to lay eggs.
The smallest splats are usually biting midges, or "no-see-ums."
"Glowing" splats are fireflies.
Tremendously loud splats are usually cockroaches. "They have the hardest shells," Hostetler said. "So they make the most noise."
"The summer is obviously very busy for us," said Berges Kerawalla, manager of Autopia car wash in Walnut Creek. "We can definitely tell the butterflies -- they stand out like a sore thumb," Kerawalla said. "It's really kind of sad to see a butterfly splattered all over because they're so beautiful, but we'll start to see them more and more in the latter part of summer."
He listed several Bay Area roadways that teem with bugs: Interstate 580, 680 and 780 have stretches of insect swarms, such as the wetter areas between Benicia and Vallejo. And don't even get him started on Interstate 5, the state's busy north-south connector. "It's terrible," he said.
Last year was a big year for butterflies in the Bay Area, according to UC Berkeley entomologist George Roderick. "We had a billion of them," he said. He said motorists driving through wetter or humid areas will encounter more bugs, which breed in the water. Nighttime will usually bring out the moths -- especially around Tilden Park in Berkeley, Roderick said.>>
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 5:16 pm
by Beyond
Splatologist. Sounds like a cool job, but job advancement opportunities are pretty well flat.
![Yes. :yes:](./images/smilies/yes.gif)
Re: APOD: Planetary Nebula Mz3: The Ant Nebula (2010 Apr 25)
Posted: Sun Aug 11, 2013 6:32 pm
by neufer
Beyond wrote:
Splatologist.
Sounds like a cool job, but job advancement opportunities are pretty well flat.
![Yes. :yes:](./images/smilies/yes.gif)
It's the majordomo position at the Starship Asterisk* :
Splat n. 1. Name used in many places (DEC, IBM, and others) for the asterisk (*).
This may derive from the `squashed-bug' appearance of the asterisk on many early line printers.
http://hitchhikers.wikia.com/wiki/Ravenous_Bugblatter_Beast_of_Traal wrote:
<<The Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal is a wild animal from the planet of Traal. It is known for its never-ending hunger and its mind boggling stupidity, indeed being listed in the Guide as the stupidest creature in the entire universe. It is such a profoundly unintelligent animal that it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you. (Draping a towel over your head, if the Guide is to be believed, will confuse the beast long enough for one to make a quick getaway.)
It can be utilized to annoy a Vogon by feeding his grandmother to it. The Beast can turn its eyes turn red, green, then a sort of mauvy pink. The Beast asks its victims their names before killing them, and carves the names on a memorial outside its cave.
The Vogons have a Bugblatter Beast trapped inside a metal box, which is about the size of a shipping container. The Beast has a large green eye and it causes the box to be continually shaking back and forth. The Vogons use it to execute people who are convicted of crimes such as kidnapping the President. Trillian is almost fed to it.>>