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The Calabash Nebula, pictured here \u2014 which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 \u2014 is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun. This image taken by the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space. The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed \u2014 the gas shown in yellow is moving close to a million kilometres an hour. Astronomers rarely capture a star in this phase of its evolution because it occurs within the blink of an eye \u2014 in astronomical terms. Over the next thousand years the nebula is expected to evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula. The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula because it contains a lot of sulphur, an element that, when combined with other elements, smells like a rotten egg \u2014 but luckily, it resides over 5000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis (The Poop deck).<\/p>\n
Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Calabash Nebula, pictured here \u2014 which has the technical name OH 231.8+04.2 \u2014 is a spectacular example of the death of a low-mass star like the Sun. This image taken by the NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the star going through a rapid transformation from a red giant to a planetary nebula, during which it blows its outer layers of gas and dust out into the surrounding space. The recently ejected material is spat out in opposite directions with immense speed \u2014 the gas shown in yellow is moving close to a million kilometres an hour. Astronomers rarely capture a star in this phase of its evolution because it occurs within the blink of an eye \u2014 in astronomical terms. Over the next thousand years the nebula is expected to evolve into a fully fledged planetary nebula. The nebula is also known as the Rotten Egg Nebula because it contains a lot of sulphur, an element that, when combined with other elements, smells like a rotten egg \u2014 but luckily, it resides over 5000 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis (The Poop deck). Continue reading