Planetary Nebulas - Fast Winds from Dying Stars

Chandra_322_1024

chandra_322 May 10th, 2006

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIT/J.Kastner et al.; Optical/IR: BD +30 & Hen 3: NASA/STScI/Univ. MD/J.P.Harrington; NGC 7027: NASA/STScI/Caltech/J.Westphal & W.Latter; Mz 3: NASA/STScI/Univ. Washington/B.Balick

This panel of composite images (X-ray/blue, optical/green, and infrared/red) shows a scene of the unfolding drama of the last stages of the evolution of sun-like stars. Planetary nebulas - so called because some of them resemble a planet when viewed through a small telescope - are produced in the late stages of moderate-mass stars' life. Over a period of a few hundred thousand years, much of a star's mass is expelled at a relatively slow speed. This mass loss creates a more or less spherical cloud around the star and eventually uncovers the star's blazing hot core. Later, shock waves generated by the collision of high-speed gas from the hot core with the previously ejected cloud create the multimillion degree bubbles observed by Chandra.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/pne/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

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Image Details

Image Type
Collage
Object Name
Mz 3
Subject - Milky Way
Nebula > Type > Planetary

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 16h 17m 17.1s
DEC = -51° 58’ 55.4”
Constellation
Norma
Chandra_322_1280
×
ID
322
Subject Category
B.4.1.3  
Subject Name
Mz 3
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/RIT/J.Kastner et al.; Optical/IR: BD +30 & Hen 3: NASA/STScI/Univ. MD/J.P.Harrington; NGC 7027: NASA/STScI/Caltech/J.Westphal & W.Latter; Mz 3: NASA/STScI/Univ. Washington/B.Balick
Release Date
2006-05-10
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/pne/
Type
Collage
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Instrument
Color Assignment
Band
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
244.32108701750, -51.98205609000
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
Scale
Rotation
Coordinate System Projection:
Quality
Position
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
pne.tif
Resource URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/pne/pne.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2013-09-05T15:48:48-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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