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| we_R_DNA |
The Butterfly Nebula from Upgraded Hubble
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Explanation: The bright clusters and nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects, and NGC 6302 is no exception. With an estimated surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the central star of this particular planetary nebula is exceptionally hot though -- shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a dense torus of dust. Above is a dramatically detailed close-up of the dying star's nebula recorded by the newly upgraded Hubble Space Telescope. Cutting across a bright cavity of ionized gas, the dust torus surrounding the central star is in the upper right corner of this view, nearly edge-on to the line-of-sight. Molecular hydrogen has recently been detected in this hot star's dusty cosmic shroud. NGC 6302 lies about 4,000 light-years away in the arachnologically correct constellation Scorpius. |
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| floyd741 |
| in sweet picture |
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| Fledz |
| That is positively awesome :eek: |
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| Silky Johnson |
| Sick. I have the Orion Nebula as my wallpaper. |
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| Acton |
Saw this on the BBC News site yesterday, awesome pic  . |
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| ziptnf |
| A++++++ picture, will look at again. |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| Its a photochop |
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| Joss Weatherby |
| quote: | Originally posted by ChemEnhanced
Its a photochop |
Technically you could consider it that.
Hubble has no true color cameras on it. All the photos it takes in the visible spectrum are in gray scale, and colors are applied via data from other sensors with the colors chosen to represent different chemical elements detected in the objects being photoed. The colors are usually derived from the red-shift of the elements in the stars and gas/dust clouds it photographs. |
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