CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly.
The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture Wednesday.
Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles.
At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. The discarded gas forms the butterflylike wings billowing from the aging star, whose heat causes the gas to glow.
Schoolchildren in Chile chose this astronomical target to celebrate 25 years of operation by the International Gemini Observatory.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Vote in favor of the Web-based Work out schedule to Keep You Fit and Sound - 2Merz postpones Norway trip for Belgium talks on frozen Russian assets
- 3Banks for High Fixed Store Rates: Augment Your Investment funds
- 4FDA approves Wegovy pill for weight loss: What to know
- 5Trump said affordability is a ‘hoax’ in his Pennsylvania speech. What do the latest numbers show?
- Sound Maturing: Wellbeing Tips for Each Life Stage
- NASA's Perseverance Mars rover could break the record for miles driven on another planet
- Financial plan Cordial Home Redesigns That Add Worth
- Schools to start reopening after Nigeria mass abduction
- RFK Jr.'s vaccine panel delays hepatitis B shot vote after chaotic meeting
- Choosing the Ideal Bed for Quality Rest and Solace
- Sea Ice Hits New Low in Hottest Year on Record for the Arctic
- 4 Home Rec center Hardware Decisions for Little Spaces
- the 6 Shrewd Beds for seniors: A Complete Survey
