What is a planetary nebula?
A planetary nebula is an expanding, glowing shell of hot gas (plasma) that is cast off towards the end of a low-mass star’s life. Despite the name, they have nothing to do with planets, and were so named because early astronomers thought they looked a bit like planets through a small telescope.
Which planetary nebula was the oldest?
Dumbbell Nebula
Dumbbell Nebula (M27): The first recorded planetary nebula, the Dumbbell Nebula lies 1,200 light-years away from Earth.
How is a planetary nebula formed?
A planetary nebula forms when a star can no longer support itself by fusion reactions in its center. The gravity from the material in the outer part of the star takes its inevitable toll on the structure of the star, and forces the inner parts to condense and heat up.
How does a red giant become a planetary nebula?
Basically a Red Giant is formed when a Star like our Sun burns all of it’s hydrogen to helium and then rearranges itself. At this time the Sun will calmly shed it’s outer layers into Space called a Planetary nebula and become a White Dwarf, a cool extremely Dense Star, about the size of the earth but mass of the Sun.
What is the difference between a nebula and a planetary nebula?
A: A nebula refers to clouds of dust and gas that lie between stars, in so-called interstellar space. A planetary nebula is a special type of nebula made when the outer layers of an old, giant star are thrown off into space.
What is the difference between a supernova and a planetary nebula?
No, they are two entirely different things. A planetary nebula is born when a low mass star dies (low mass means less than about 8 times the mass of the Sun), while the supernova is the death of a massive star.
Who first discovered planetary nebula?
Charles Messier
Spotted by Charles Messier in 1764, M27 was the first planetary nebula ever discovered. The term “planetary nebula” is a bit of a misnomer based on the nebula’s round, planet-like appearance when viewed through smaller telescopes.
Can planets exist in a nebula?
The answer would be yes. As the planet orbits its star that orbits the center of the galaxy, the planet and its star could enter a nebula and pass through that nebula for thousands or millions of years and then emerge on the other side of the nebula.
What is the difference between nebula and planetary nebula?
A nebula refers to clouds of dust and gas that lie between stars, in so-called interstellar space. A planetary nebula is a special type of nebula made when the outer layers of an old, giant star are thrown off into space.
What does planetary nebula contain?
A planetary nebula is an astronomical object consisting of a glowing shell of gas and plasma formed by certain types of stars at the end of their lives. They are in fact unrelated to planets; the name originates from a supposed similarity in appearance to giant planets.
Do nebulae have planets?
The term “planetary nebula” is a misnomer because they are unrelated to planets. The term originates from the planet-like round shape of these nebulae observed by astronomers through early telescopes. All planetary nebulae form at the end of the life of a star of intermediate mass, about 1-8 solar masses.
What are the 4 main types of nebulae?
There are five types of cloudy or nebulous objects in the sky: planetary nebulae, emission nebulae, reflection nebulae, dark nebulae and supernova remnants. I will cover the planetaries in the next chapter and discuss the other four types here.
What are the names of the planetary nebulas?
The planetary nebulas shown here are NGC 6543, also known as the Cat’s Eye, NGC 7662, NGC 7009 and NGC 6826. In each case, X-ray emission from Chandra is colored purple and optical emission from the Hubble Space Telescope is colored red, green and blue.
How many planetary nebulas have been observed by Chandra?
In the first part of this survey, published in a new paper, twenty one planetary nebulas within about 5000 light years of the Earth have been observed. The paper also includes studies of fourteen other planetary nebulas, within the same distance range, that Chandra had already observed.
How is the age of a planetary nebula determined?
The new survey data reveal that the optical images of most planetary nebulas with diffuse X-ray emission display compact shells with sharp rims, surrounded by fainter halos. All of these compact shells have observed ages that are less than about 5000 years, which therefore likely represents the timescale for the strong shock waves to occur.
What causes X-ray emission in planetary nebulas?
The diffuse X-ray emission seen in about 30% of the planetary nebulas in the new Chandra survey, and all members of the gallery, is caused by shock waves as the fast wind collides with the ejected atmosphere.
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