Something is amiss in the Butterfly Nebula. When astronomers compared images from 2009 & 2020, they saw dramatic changes in its “wings.” Powerful winds are driving complex alterations of nebular material. It’s unknown how such activity is possible in what should be a “largely moribund star with no remaining fuel.”
Tag: Planetary Nebulae
The messy death of a star
Around 2500 years ago, a star ejected most of its gas, forming the beautiful Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 3132, chosen as one of the first five image packages from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).
Hubble Provides Holistic View of Stars Gone Haywire
New images from the Hubble Space Telescope have helped researchers identify rapid changes in material blasting off stars at the centers of two planetary nebulas NGC 6302 and NGC 7027— causing them to reconsider what is happening at their cores.