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 Job of a Migration Legal advisor: How They Can Help You- Your kid wants it now. What saying yes, no or not yet teaches kids about money and instant gratification.
- American Airlines Flight Attendant Disappears Amid Layover in Colombia, Authorities Investigating
- Vote in favor of the handheld vacuum that you love for its strong attractions!
- Director of Swiss hospital describes the rush to treat the injured from Alpine resort bar fire
- Savvy Watches: Which One Is Appropriate for You?
- Attorney-General to High Court: Gov’t violating draft ruling, risking rule of law
- Must-Sit in front of the Programs from Europe and the US
- NASA set for first crewed moon return in over half a century
