Weird Ringed Nebula Glows in Infrared

[n2doc]

NASA’s WISE infrared space telescope is losing its refrigeration, but its backlog of data is still yielding cool images such this one of an odd, blobby, jellyfish-like nebula.

“I just happened to look up one of my favorite objects in our WISE catalogue and was shocked to see these odd rings,” said Michael Ressler, a member of the WISE science team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, in a press release.

The object, called the “Crystal Ball” nebula or NGC1514, is a planetary nebula located 800 light-years away in the constellation Taurus. Planetary nebulas form when a dying star puffs off its outer layers of material and illuminates the gaseous cloud from within. They’re called “planetary” because the first such objects discovered were roughly spherical, like a planet, although nebulas with lopsided wings are now known to be common.

In visible light (left image), NGC 1514 looked a lot like any other asymmetrical nebula. But WISE’s infrared image (right) shows loopy rings surrounding NGC 1514 that are unlike anything astronomers had seen before.



more

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/wise-ringed-nebula/

[Tansy_Gold]

1. Just wanted you to know how much I love the stuff you post here

I'm science-challenged but love it.

:yourock:


TG

[K8-EEE]

2. Oh +1!

Thanks, so interesting!

[Mika]

4. Infinite dittos.

:hi: to all.

[Thor_MN]

3. Dyson cylinder

[Nihil]

5. If the image is real ...

... (i.e., not a hoax or an artifact of processing) then it is a fascinating
object for sure.

:wow:

[sonias]

6. Very cool

Thanks!

:kick: