APOD: 2025 May 14 Б NGC 1360: The Robins Egg Nebula
Explanation:
This pretty nebula
lies some 1,500 light-years away,
its shape and color in this telescopic view
reminiscent of a robin's egg.
The cosmic cloud spans about 3
light-years, nestled securely within the
boundaries of the southern constellation of the Furnace
(Fornax).
Recognized as a
planetary nebula, egg-shaped
NGC 1360 doesn't represent a beginning, though.
Instead, it corresponds to a brief and final phase in the
evolution of an aging star.
In fact,
visible at the center of the nebula, the central star of NGC 1360
is known to be a
binary star system
likely consisting of two evolved
white dwarf stars,
less massive but much hotter than
the Sun.
Their intense and otherwise invisible
ultraviolet radiation has stripped away
electrons
from the atoms in their mutually surrounding gaseous shroud.
The blue-green hue inside of NGC 1360 seen here is the
strong emission produced as electrons recombine with
doubly ionized oxygen atoms.
Celestial Surprise:
What picture did APOD feature on your birthday? (post 1995)
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.
