A 'Butterfly' in Space - Amazing Hubble Image

Not a space geek but holy crap is this thing beautiful!

Source
-Image reveals the incredible complexity of the bipolar nebula’s two shimmering lobes 5,560 light-years away

-It is known as a bipolar nebula, because it has two stars at its centre with around the same mass as the sun

-The star has not only ejected its outer layers, but the exposed remnant core is now illuminating these layers

-The majestic beauty of the dying Twin Jet Nebula has been revealed in incredible detail in a stunning new image by Hubble.

-Stretched out like iridescent butterfly wings, the image reveals the incredible complexity of the bipolar nebula’s two shimmering lobes.

-Despite their peaceful appearance, these violent cosmic clouds are jets of star material, streaming off into space at speeds over 620, 000mph (1 million km/h).

The speed at which this thing is traveling is insane! Go to the link for more: www.dailymail.co.uk... ph.html

Beautiful.

Jude

a reply to: jude11

Yes, beautiful indeed.

Remember though that the colours were artificially added - Hubble has no natural colours cameras on board, it takes black & white pictures. So the colours are artificially added in using image editing softwares.

Stunning nonetheless! S&F

Space is absolutely amazing. Still today after thirty some odd years on this planet, I look up and instantly feel extraordinarily tiny and unparalleled awe. If my head were sewn on in a way that I could only ever look up, I can't say that I would be devastatingly heartbroken at the notion.

This is one of the reasons.

It is indeed beautiful. Thank you for sharing it.

originally posted by: swanne
a reply to: jude11

Yes, beautiful indeed.

Remember though that the colours were artificially added - Hubble has no natural colours cameras on board, it takes black & white pictures. So the colours are artificially added in using image editing softwares.

Stunning nonetheless! S&F

If you scroll thru I did change my OP a little.

I know it's not actually film and the pics are actually recorded light but that's all I do know.

Thanks,

Jude

originally posted by: jude11
-It is known as a bipolar nebula...

Good thing it is over 5,000 light years away, otherwise it would be on meds by now.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

And what best way to send meds 5,000 light-years away than through a wormhole?

Seriously though: the Milky Way itself has been observed to have a structure which is a bit reminiscent of the Twin Jets:



And we are orbiting that!

Absolutely stunning!

Thanks for share !

a reply to: jude11

Thanks. I feel very tiny, unimportant, and insignificant now.

originally posted by: swanne
a reply to: jude11

Yes, beautiful indeed.

Remember though that the colours were artificially added - Hubble has no natural colours cameras on board, it takes black & white pictures. So the colours are artificially added in using image editing softwares.

Stunning nonetheless! S&F

No, Hubble uses special filters to allow individual colors of light or individual emission lines through. It takes multiple images at different wavelengths and those images are then combined to create color. It's not just artificially added onto a black & white image using image editing software. It's real data, it just doesn't necessarily correspond to the same color the human eye would see.

And on the same topic, Phil Plait just posted his "Astronomy Crash Course" on planetary nebulae and white dwarfs that sit in their middle:


www.youtube.com...

Today Phil follows up last week’s look at the death of low mass stars with what comes next: a white dwarf. White dwarfs are incredibly hot and dense objects roughly the size of Earth. They also can form planetary nebulae: huge, intricately detailed objects created when the wind blown from the dying stars is lit up by the central white dwarf. They only last a few millennia. The Sun probably won’t form one, but higher mass stars do.

Awesome image... even if the natural colors might be different.

That said, be thankful we aren't on the receiving end of one of those "beautiful" jets... they are storms of radioactive death, heh... most of the 'pretty' stuff out there isn't conducive to life.

a reply to: Baddogma

most of the 'pretty' stuff out there isn't conducive to life.

You must know my ex.

Jude

a reply to: ngchunter

I stand erected corrected.

Hi, space fans.

If you want more of it, go there every day !:
apod.nasa.gov...
= Astronomy picture of the day

and while there, see the past photos !!
apod.nasa.gov...

It is TOTALY BEAUTIFUL, almost every day !!!

Blue skies. . .on earth. . .

we should point that telescope at earth and capture Venus Neptune the moon etc in the same glorious high def images for a change, instead of 5k l/yrs away to show obvious 'artist renderings' . ...
hmmm just a thought.

Awesome post!