NASA has released a spectacular photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the planetary nebula ESO 455-10.
This Hubble image shows ESO 455-10, a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Scorpius. The color image is composed of near-infrared and optical observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Stanghellini.
Planetary nebulae are a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding shell of gas ejected from stars late in their lives.
These objects are usually no larger than a light-year in diameter, and form at the end of the life of a star of intermediate mass, between 1 and 8 times that of the Sun.
They have a relatively round compact appearance rather than the chaotic patchy shapes of other nebulae — hence their name, which was given because of their resemblance to planetary disks when viewed with the instruments of the late 1700s, when the first planetary nebulae were discovered.
Planetary nebulae are thought to be crucial in galactic enrichment as they distribute their elements, particularly the heavier metal elements produced inside a star, into the interstellar medium which will in time form the next generation of stars.
There are about 20,000 planetary nebulae in our Milky Way Galaxy. Most of them are concentrated toward the plane of the Milky Way’s disk, but a few are also know to exist in the halo and the bulge.
ESO 455-10, also known as IRAS 17277-3058, is one such planetary nebula, located in the constellation of Scorpius.
“The oblate shells of ESO 455-10, previously held tightly together as layers of its central star, not only give this planetary nebula its unique appearance, but also offer information about the nebula,” Hubble astronomers said.
“Seen in a field of stars, the distinct asymmetrical arc of material over the north side of the nebula is a clear sign of interactions between ESO 455-10 and the interstellar medium.”
“The interstellar medium is the material — consisting of matter and radiation — between star systems and galaxies,” they explained.
“The star at the center of ESO 455-10 allows Hubble to see the interaction with the gas and dust of the nebula, the surrounding interstellar medium, and the light from the star itself.”
