Gemini South Telescope views a dying star
Dying red giant stars are the source of some of the most beautiful phenomena seen in the Universe.
Published: March 28, 2020 at 8:26 am
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Beautiful in death, this is planetary nebula CVMP 1, 6,500 lightyears away in the southern constellation of Circinus, the Compass.
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Imaged by the Gemini South telescope on Cerro Pachón in Chile, it shows gases aglow in the radiation of a newly exposed hot core, as an old red giant star dies and casts off its outer layers into interstellar space.
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Release date 20 February 2020
Observatory Gemini Observatory
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Image credit The international Gemini Observatory/NSF’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory/AURA
Authors
Jane Williamson is a science journalist and writer.
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