Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the planetary nebula
NGC 2452, located in the southern constellation of Puppis. The blue
haze across the frame is what remains of a star like our Sun after it
has depleted all its fuel. When this happens, the core of the star
becomes unstable and releases huge numbers of incredibly energetic
particles that blow the star's atmosphere away into space.
At the centre of this blue cloud lies what remains of the nebula's
progenitor star. This cool, dim, and extremely dense star is actually a
pulsating white dwarf, meaning that its brightness varies over time as
gravity causes waves that pulse throughout the small star's body.
NGC 2452 was discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1847. He initially defined
it as "an object whose nature I cannot make out. It is certainly not a
star, nor a close double star [...] I should call it an oblong planetary
nebula". To early observers like Herschel with their smaller
telescopes, planetary nebulae resembled gaseous planets, and so were
named accordingly. The name has stuck, although modern telescopes like
Hubble have made it clear that these objects are not planets at all, but
the outer layers of dying stars being thrown off into space.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestants Luca Limatola and Budeanu Cosmin Mirel.
Source: ESA/Hubble - Space Telescope
