planetary nebula tagged posts

NASA’s Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex

The discovery, made using the largest antenna of NASA’s Madrid Deep Space Communication Complex (70m diameter), could help scientists to understand more about the history of this important element. Helium-3 is a gas that has the potential to be used as a fuel in nuclear fusion power plants in the future, and is crucial for use in cryogenics and medical imaging techniques. There is very little of it available on Earth, so most of it is manufactured in nuclear labs at great cost. There are thought to be significant supplies on the Moon, and several governments have signalled their intention to go to there to mine it, which could trigger a new space race.

The gas is produced in low mass stars, less than twice the mass of the Sun, which expel most...

The Twin Jet Nebula, or PN M2-9, is a striking example of a bipolar planetary nebula. Bipolar planetary nebulae are formed when the central object is not a single star, but a binary system, Studies have shown that the nebula’s size increases with time, and measurements of this rate of increase suggest that the stellar outburst that formed the lobes occurred just 1200 years ago. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt

The new image highlights nebula PN M2-9 shells and its knots of expanding gas in striking detail via NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. 2 iridescent lobes of material stretch outwards from a central star system. Within these lobes 2 huge jets of gas are streaming from the star system at speeds in >1 million km/ hour.

The M in the name PN M2-9 refers to Rudolph Mi...