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Астронет: Астрономическая картинка дня NGC 2440: жемчужина нового белого карлика http://www.variable-stars.ru/db/msg/1337169/eng |
Credit & Copyright: H. Bond (STScI),
R. Ciardullo (PSU),
WFPC2,
HST,
NASA;
Processing: Forrest Hamilton
Explanation:
Like a pearl, a white dwarf star shines best after being
freed from its
shell.
In this analogy, however, the Sun would be a mollusk and its discarded hull would shine prettiest of all!
In the above shell of gas and dust, the
planetary nebula designated
NGC 2440, contains one of the
hottest white dwarf stars known.
The glowing stellar pearl can be seen as the bright dot near the image center.
The portion of
NGC 2440 shown spans about one light year.
The center of
our Sun will eventually become a
white dwarf, but
not for another five billion years.
The above false color image
was captured by the
Hubble
Space Telescope in 1995.
NGC 2440 lies about 4,000
light
years distant toward the southern
constellation Puppis.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.