Planetary nebulae are formed when red giant stars reach the end of their helium fuel supply and eject their outer layers, becoming hot and dense white dwarf stars about the size of Earth. The shed material, enriched with carbon, creates stunning patterns as it is slowly blown into the interstellar m
A color rendition of NGC 6302, the Butterfly Nebula, created from black-and-white exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 2019 and 2020. In the violet-colored regions, strong stellar winds are actively reshaping the nebular wings over the past 900 years. The other features range in age from 1200 to 2300 years.
Yet new research shows that something is amiss in the Butterfly Nebula. When a team led by astronomers at thein 2009 and 2020, they saw dramatic changes in the material within the wings. As they will report on Jan. 12 at the 241st meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, powerful winds are driving complex alterations of material within the nebula’s wings.
The team compared high-quality Hubble images taken 11 years apart to chart the speeds and growth patterns of features within the nebula’s wings. The bulk of the analysis was performed by Lars Borchert, a graduate student atBorchert discovered roughly half a dozen “jets” — beginning about 2,300 years ago and ending 900 years ago — pushing material out in a series of asymmetrical outflows.
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