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Sieht aus wie ein planetarischer Nebel, hat aber eine ganz andere Entstehungsgeschichte:
A blue ring nebula from a stellar merger several thousand years ago
Here we report observations of an unusual, ring-shaped ultraviolet (‘blue’) nebula and the star at its centre, TYC 2597-735-1. The nebula has two opposing fronts, suggesting a bipolar outflow of material from TYC 2597-735-1.
The Case of the Blue Ring Nebula
This composite image shows the original "blue ring" (actually far-ultraviolet radiation) that NASA's GALEX mission captured in 2004. GALEX also saw the central star (colored yellow, but actually radiating near-ultraviolet light). The pink rings show emission from ionized hydrogen.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / M. Seibert (Carnegie Institution for Science) / K. Hoadley (Caltech) / GALEX Team
The Blue Ring Nebula marks the site where two stars merged and ejected a cloud of debris. A gaseous disk around the primary star cut this cloud in half, creating of two expanding cones of debris, one moving toward Earth and one moving away. Magenta represents visible light emitted by ionized hydrogen in the shockwave that leads the expanding debris cones. The far-ultraviolet light (colored blue) comes from cooler hydrogen molecules behind the shockwave and is only visible where the cones overlap as seen from Earth.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt
A blue ring nebula from a stellar merger several thousand years ago
Here we report observations of an unusual, ring-shaped ultraviolet (‘blue’) nebula and the star at its centre, TYC 2597-735-1. The nebula has two opposing fronts, suggesting a bipolar outflow of material from TYC 2597-735-1.
The Case of the Blue Ring Nebula
This composite image shows the original "blue ring" (actually far-ultraviolet radiation) that NASA's GALEX mission captured in 2004. GALEX also saw the central star (colored yellow, but actually radiating near-ultraviolet light). The pink rings show emission from ionized hydrogen.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / M. Seibert (Carnegie Institution for Science) / K. Hoadley (Caltech) / GALEX Team
The Blue Ring Nebula marks the site where two stars merged and ejected a cloud of debris. A gaseous disk around the primary star cut this cloud in half, creating of two expanding cones of debris, one moving toward Earth and one moving away. Magenta represents visible light emitted by ionized hydrogen in the shockwave that leads the expanding debris cones. The far-ultraviolet light (colored blue) comes from cooler hydrogen molecules behind the shockwave and is only visible where the cones overlap as seen from Earth.
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt