DEMISE IN FIRE AND ICE (NEWS NUGGET - MAY 3, 2004)

NEWS NUGGET: May 3, 2004

DEMISE IN FIRE AND ICE

The Bug Nebula, NGC 6302, is one of the brightest and most extreme
planetary nebulae known. The fiery, dying star at its center is shrouded
by a blanket of icy hailstones. This NASA Hubble Wide Field Camera 2
image shows impressive walls of compressed gas, laced with trailing
strands and bubbling outflows. A dark, dusty torus surrounds the inner
nebula (seen at the upper right). At the heart of the turmoil is one of
the hottest stars known. Despite a sizzling temperature of at least
450,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the star itself has never been seen, as it
is hidden by the blanket of dust and shines most brightly in the
ultraviolet, making it hard to observe. The Bug Nebula lies about 4,000
light-years away in the southern constellation Scorpius.

Credit: ESA, NASA and A. Zijlstra (UMIST, Manchester, UK)

Find out mo
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/new...ets/1083589200
http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic0407.html

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