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
The Leonid meteor shower is peaking early this week. Here’s what to know- 5 Indoor Plants That Further develop Air Quality
- The Best Music Collections of the 10 years
- Damaged launch pad: How long before Russia can send astronauts to the ISS again?
- Bayer reports positive results for blood thinner after 2023 setback
- Figure out How to Store Your Gold Ventures: A Thorough Aide safely
- How to watch ‘The Traitors’ Season 4: Premiere date, episode release time, full cast list and more
- Fundamental Home Exercise center Hardware: Amplify Your Exercises
- Australia to offer businesses $693 million in cheap loans to ease fuel cost pressure
