Dying star resembles a billowing crystal ball in new telescope photo
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Key Points:
- The Gemini North Telescope on Mauna Kea in Hawaii captured a detailed image of the Crystal Ball Nebula, a dying binary star system located 1,500 light-years from Earth.
- The nebula, officially known as NGC 1514, features a milky white, spherical gas cloud formed as one of the stars shed its outer layers near the end of its life.
- The exposed core of the star heats the surrounding gas to tens of thousands of degrees, creating the nebula's distinctive glowing appearance.
- Scientists believe one of the two stars, originally larger than the sun, has died, leading to the formation of this planetary nebula.
- The full-color image of the nebula was completed last week and released by the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, which operates the Gemini North Telescope.