More Images: A Cosmic Amethyst in a Dying Star
X-ray & Optical Images of IC 4593
(Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/UNAM/J. Toalá et al.; Optical: NASA/STScI)
This composite image of planetary nebula IC 4593 contains X-rays from Chandra from gas that has been heated to over a million degrees. These high temperatures were likely generated by material that blew away from the shrunken core of the star and crashed into gas that had previously been ejected by the star. Visible light data from Hubble in the image show combinations of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. Planetary nebulas are a phase that stars like our Sun undergo once they run out of fuel, causing their outer layers to shed and the core of the star to shrink.
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(November 12, 2020)