August 3, 2007
You were not dropped into the cosmos as a stranger. You came from it entirely: borrowed from stars, carried by Earth, warmed by the Sun, and...
NGC 7293: The Helix Nebula
Birthday · August 3, 2007
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APOD published August 3, 2007. Credit: Imaging - Josch Hambsch, Processing - Karel Teuwen. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
A mere seven hundred light years from Earth, in the constellation Aquarius, a sun-like star is dying. Its last few thousand years have produced the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293), a well studied and nearby example of a Planetary Nebula, typical of this final phase of stellar evolution. Nearly 11 hours of exposure time have gone in to creating this remarkably deep view of the nebula. It shows details of the Helix's brighter inner region, about 3 light-years across, but also follows fainter outer halo features that give the nebula a span of well over six light-years. The white dot at the Helix's center is this Planetary Nebula's hot, central star. A simple looking nebula at first glance, the Helix is now understood to have a surprisingly complex geometry.
Image credit: Imaging - Josch Hambsch, Processing - Karel Teuwen