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
Kona SUV: Exploring the Future with Hyundai's Visionary Hybrid - 2New science points to 4 distinct types of autism
- 3Tech giants accused of not complying with Australian social media ban
- 4Lockheed Martin opens new hypersonic weapons facility
- 5Israel kidnaps PIJ terrorist in covert op. in Hamas-controlled Gaza in pursuit of Ran Gvili
- Germany to create restitution council to return colonia-era acquired cultural artefacts
- 'Dancing With the Stars' Season 34 finale: Who might win the mirror ball trophy? Where do the remaining contestants rank?
- 6 Monetary Arranging Administrations for Your Necessities
- Where America’s CO2 emissions come from – what you need to know, in charts
- Miley Cyrus flashes a diamond ring on the red carpet, sparking engagement rumors with Maxx Morando: A timeline of their four-year relationship
- Can ICE agents detain U.S. citizens? What powers do they have to arrest people? Your most common questions answered.
- Instructions to Safeguard Your Speculations In the midst of Changing Disc Rates
- Going on a bad date is a drag. Worse? Ending up as a cautionary tale on TikTok.
- $30K Disability Scam Implodes After Surf Trip in Mexico
