May 25, 2009
Hubble Photographs a Planetary Nebula to Commemorate Decommissioning of Super Camera
 The Hubble community bids farewell to the soon-to-be decommissioned Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 onboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. In tribute to Hubble's longest-running optical camera, which was developed and built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a planetary nebula has been imaged as the camera's final "pretty picture."
This
planetary nebula is known as Kohoutek 4-55 (or K 4-55). It is one of a
series of planetary nebulae that were named after their discoverer,
Czech astronomer Lubos Kohoutek and Sheldon Kalnitsky.
A planetary nebula contains the outer layers of a red giant star that
were expelled into interstellar space when the star was in the late
stages of its life. Ultraviolet radiation emitted from the remaining
hot core of the star ionizes the ejected gas shells, causing them to
glow.
In the specific case of K 4-55, a bright inner ring is
surrounded by a bipolar structure. The entire system is then surrounded
by a faint red halo, seen in the emission by nitrogen gas. This
multi-shell structure is fairly uncommon in planetary nebulae.
This
Hubble image was taken by the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 on May
4, 2009. The colors represent the makeup of the various emission clouds
in the nebula: red represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen, and
blue represents oxygen. K 4-55 is nearly 4,600 light-years away in the
constellation Cygnus.
The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2
instrument, which was installed in 1993 to replace the original Wide
Field/Planetary Camera, will be removed to make room for Wide Field
Camera 3 during the upcoming Hubble Servicing Mission.
During
the camera's amazing, nearly 16-year run, the Wide Field and Planetary
Camera 2 provided outstanding science and spectacular images of the
cosmos. Some of its best-remembered images are of the Eagle Nebula
pillars, Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9's impacts on Jupiter's atmosphere,
and the 1995 Hubble Deep Field – the longest and deepest Hubble optical image of its time.
The
scientific and inspirational legacy of the camera will be felt by
astronomers and the public alike, for as long as the story of the Hubble Space Telescope is told.
For images and more information about planetary nebula K 4-55, visit: http://hubblesite.org/news/2009/21 . For more information about the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, visit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/wfpc2/
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency and is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Space Telescope Science Institute conducts Hubble science operations. The institute is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., Washington, D.C.
The Space Telescope Science Institute is an International Year of Astronomy program partner. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Posted at 05:47 am by sarahbaltic
|
|
|
|
Time
Update Your Knowledge
Maths Games
Resources
Online printing,Online printing quote
Health insurance california,Blue cross insurance in californiaMen Costumes,Adult Halloween Costumes
kids costumes,adult costumes
Mens suits, Zoot suits
Italian suits, Overcoats
Mens underwear, Jockstraps
Flavored water, Natural flavors
Houston home remodeling, Houston kitchen remodeling
Famous houses, Traditional houses
Texas land surveying, Houston Boundry surveys
Live in nanny, Live out nanny
Music online, Collection of coins Casino online gambling, Online casinos reviews Mesothelioma cancer, Surviving heart attack
|
