Look Deep

Well this is just stunning.  The Helix Nebula is a planetary nebula that lies about 700 light-years away from us. It’s what’s left over after a star like the Sun goes through its death throes and blows off much of its atmosphere to surrounding space. If you could float through the material to the central portion, you’d pass through shells of gas that were “exhaled” by the star. And, in the center would be the hot remnant of the old star, shining brightly in visible and ultraviolet light.

This image from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope is full of detail in the surrounding clouds. For example, you can see little “blobs” of material that astronomers call “cometary knots”  — not because they’re comets (they’re not) but because they seem to have faint tails extending away from central blobs, pointing away from the star.

If you click on the image above you’ll get an enlarged version.  Look carefully at the central section of the nebula — you should be able to see galaxies in there!  The galaxies aren’t IN the nebula — they’re behind it, and the veil of gas is so thin that you can see much more distant objects right through it!

Go explore the eye of the  Helix — it’s gorgeous!  Want more information? Click here for the press release and links to zoom-in animations of the Helix.