Space fluorescent bulb

Planetary nebulae make a nice slide! HSS everyone!

 

These are the fluorescent bulbs of the Universe: the light coming from this "planetary" nebula M57 in constellation Lyra is produced the same way as in household fluorescent light bulbs - by absorbing invisible (ultraviolet) light from the central source and re-emitting it in the visible spectrum. But there the similarity ends. What you see here is a dying star. It used to be a magnificent red giant star, and then at some point the internal balance between radiation and gravity goes bananas, and most of the star becomes an expanding shell of gas (eventually dispersed into space), while the super-hot core stays behind - you can see the core in this photo. As there are no more thermonuclear reactions to keep it alive, this core cools down and becomes a relic known as a "white dwarf". Eventually (billions years later) the white dwarf becomes cold and invisible - a "black dwarf". Read more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetary_nebula

 

Technical details: the photo was stacked from twenty 15-seconds exposures made in the prime focus of my 6" Newtonian telescope, using Canon 50D and electronic shutter (FRSP feature of Magic Lantern).

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Uploaded on June 12, 2016