#ngc2440

2017, NASA Flashback: Hubble sees the beautiful demises of dying star

This image was taken in 2017. It still blows our mind.

Hubble sees the beautiful demises of dying star

This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the colorful “last hurrah” of a star like our sun. The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star’s remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material…

NGC 2440

NGC 2440 is a planetary nebula located about 4,000 light years away towards the constellation Puppis. The nebula is over 1 light year across and contains one of the hottest white dwarf stars known, with a surface temperature of 200,000 Kelvin.

The white dwarf star was once a star similar to our Sun. At the end of its life, it emitted its outer layers as it collapsed, and now ionizes the surrounding material to create the planetary nebula. NGC 2440 shows several complex structures that suggest its central star emitted material in periodic episodes. Each emission consists of two outflows in opposite directions, but changing directions with each emission.

NGC 2440

NGC 2440 is a planetary nebula located about 4,000 light years away towards the constellation Puppis. At its center lies a white dwarf star, one of the hottest known with a surface temperature of around 200,000 degrees Celsius. 

The nebula has an interesting shape, which suggests that the central star emitted periodic outflows of material which became the nebula. The region also contains dense clouds of dust. The entire nebula is surrounded by a cooler cloud of dust, which cannot be seen in visible light but can be detected in infrared. 

NGC 2440 by geckzilla on Flickr.