Some of the most breathtaking views in the universe are created by nebulae – hot glowing clouds of gas. The same orange and blue color lights can be seen in the images captured of the famous Ring Nebula, which lies 2,500 light years away from Earth.
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A dying star is important to take note of, because of the possible outcomes of a star’s death.
The new composite image of the Lagoon Nebula’s central region shows churning funnels of gas and energetic star formation. Although the nebula can be identified with the naked eye by its position in the constellation Sagittarius, this close view provided by the Hubble Telescope give more detailed images of the events that occur when a nebula dies.
The nebula was first discovered in 1654 by the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Hodierna. It was considered, at that time, to be an object of an intermediate level of brightness. “It was independently noted as a ‘nebula” by the British astronomer John Flamsteed in 1680.
The central part of the Lagoon Nebula has two main structures of gas and dust and is seen in the middle third of the image. These features are quite similar to tornadoes on Earth – they are thought to be wrapped up into their funnel-like shapes by temperature differences between the hot surface and cold interior of the clouds. In a combination with the pressure of starlight, the clouds are turned into the form of a tornado. This explosive final stage of a star’s life is known as a planetary nebula.
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This cosmic light show often continues for around 10,000 years before the gorgeous gases shrink back toward the cooling star at the nebula’s center. Researchers say the fate of our sun would also be sealed in a spectacular planetary nebula too, but thousands of years from now. Eventually, this sprawling and flamboyant display transforms into a modest white dwarf star.
