NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope finds a delicate flower in the Ring Nebula,
as shown in this image. The outer shell of this planetary nebula looks
surprisingly similar to the delicate petals of a camellia blossom. A
planetary nebula is a shell of material ejected from a dying star.
Located about 2,000 light years from Earth in the constellation Lyra, the
Ring Nebula is also known as Messier Object 57 and NGC 6720. It is one of
the best examples of a planetary nebula and a favorite target of amateur
astronomers.
The "ring" is a thick cylinder of glowing gas and dust around the doomed
star. As the star begins to run out of fuel, its core becomes smaller and
hotter, boiling off its outer layers. The telescope's infrared array
camera detected this material expelled from the withering star. Previous
images of the Ring Nebula taken by visible-light telescopes usually
showed just the inner glowing loop of gas around the star. The outer
regions are especially prominent in this new image because Spitzer sees
the infrared light from hydrogen molecules. The molecules emit infrared
light because they have absorbed ultraviolet radiation from the star or
have been heated by the wind from the star.
Download the QuickTime movie for the animated version of this Ring Nebula
image.
