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
How HIV/AIDS got its name − the words Americans used for the crisis were steeped in science, stigma and religious language- Instructions to Decide the Best SUV Size for Seniors
- The most effective method to Explore Moral Situations in Brain research with Your Certification
- He made a name for himself posting thirst traps on TikTok. Now he's the star of a wildly popular rom-com.
- From White Elephant to Favorite Things parties, here are all the rules you need to know every kind of gift exchange
- What is a Trump Gold Card? U.S. launches $1 million immigration visas
- FDA adds strongest warning to Sarepta gene therapy linked to 2 patient deaths
- Satellite data reveals a huge solar storm in 2024 shrank Earth's protective plasma shield
- 7 Well known Vacation spots In The US
