In 2009, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged the beautiful Beetle Nebula (NGC 6302). This planetary nebula is located 4,000 light years from Earth.
A dying star – five times the mass of the Sun – creates this display of cosmic light. The star is shedding its outer layer at a speed of more than 950,000 kilometers per hour. This warm gas is drained from the star’s poles, forming a bi-lobed structure. These two lobes resemble the wings of a butterfly or an hourglass. Our sun’s will Die in five billion years It also releases its outer layer of gas. This produces a planetary nebula.
The secret of this dipole nebula
Amazingly, the Beetle Nebula is a dipole planetary nebula. Most planetary nebulae with a single central star are round in shape, e.g. fog ring profession Helixneville. Bipolar planetary nebulae are usually caused by two or more stars, but in the Beetle nebula even today No second star found.
One of the hottest stars
Interesting Fact: The star is in the heart of the Ladybug Nebula It is one of the hottest stars in our galaxy. Body temperature over 220,000 degrees Celsius. This makes the star 35 times hotter than our sun. The star will slowly cool down from now on.
Stars playing hide and seek
The dying star is not shown in the photo. “The star is difficult to find because it is hidden behind a cloud of dust and ice in the middle of the nebula,” explains Professor Albert Zigelstra of the University of Manchester. The star is located exactly halfway between the two lobes.
Download this beautiful satellite image
Would you like to download these amazing HD space images? Click here For a closer look at the Beetle Nebula.
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