Not a Planet
This gorgeous image resembles an inky patch of space that has been smudged by a giant celestial thumbprint. Actually the object is a planetary nebula named PN M 2-53. It was imaged using the Gemini North telescope of the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab.
Planetary nebulae have a wildly misleading name, as they have nothing to do with planets — or even exoplanets. The misnomer originates from the late 1700s, when astronomers thought that the gaseous structures resembled planets. Planetary nebulae are actually formed by some dying stars, right at the end of their lives. The layers of gas and dust shed by the dying stars are lit by their remaining cores, creating a planetary nebula. Despite its inaccuracy, the name has stuck!
Credit:International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgements:
PI: Rafael Andrés Pignata (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba)
Image processing: T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
About the Image
Id: | iotw2113a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | March 31, 2021, 4 p.m. |
Size: | 2503 x 2000 px |
About the Object
Name: | PN M 2-53 |
Distance: | 12000 light years |
Constellation: | Lacerta |
Category: | Nebulae |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 22 32 18.06 |
Position (Dec): | 56° 10' 25.21" |
Field of view: | 2.77 x 2.21 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 90.0° left of vertical |
Colors & filters
Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
---|---|---|
Optical OIII | 499 nm | Gemini North GMOS-N |
Optical SII | 672 nm | Gemini North GMOS-N |
Optical H-alpha | 656 nm | Gemini North GMOS-N |