September 13th 05, 05:25 PM
FOR RELEASE: September 13, 2005
PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC05-25
HUBBLE CATCHES SCATTERED LIGHT FROM THE BOOMERANG NEBULA
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope caught the Boomerang Nebula in images
taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys in early 2005. This
reflecting cloud of dust and gas has two nearly symmetric lobes of
matter that are being ejected from a central star. Each lobe of the
nebula is nearly one light-year in length, making the total length
of the nebula half as long as the distance from our Sun our nearest
neighbors -- the Alpha Centauri stellar system, located roughly 4
light-years away. The Boomerang Nebula resides 5,000 light-years from
Earth. Hubble's sharp view is able to resolve patterns and ripples in
the nebula very close to the central star that are not visible from the
ground.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: J. Biretta (STScI)
For the full story, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2005/25
http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/25
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA),
for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international
cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC05-25
HUBBLE CATCHES SCATTERED LIGHT FROM THE BOOMERANG NEBULA
NASA's Hubble Space Telescope caught the Boomerang Nebula in images
taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys in early 2005. This
reflecting cloud of dust and gas has two nearly symmetric lobes of
matter that are being ejected from a central star. Each lobe of the
nebula is nearly one light-year in length, making the total length
of the nebula half as long as the distance from our Sun our nearest
neighbors -- the Alpha Centauri stellar system, located roughly 4
light-years away. The Boomerang Nebula resides 5,000 light-years from
Earth. Hubble's sharp view is able to resolve patterns and ripples in
the nebula very close to the central star that are not visible from the
ground.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: J. Biretta (STScI)
For the full story, visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2005/25
http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/25
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA),
for NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center,
Greenbelt, Md. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international
cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).