Crystal Ball Nebula reveals a glimpse into the past, not the future
A new telescope image of the Crystal Ball Nebula reveals a haunting view of a dying star system whose light began traveling toward Earth 1,500 years ago.
This stunning image was taken by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The glowing “Crystal Ball Nebula” is a dying star about 1,500 light-years from Earth, and it looks like a cosmic crystal ball.
A new telescope image from Hawaii’s Maunakea summit is delivering spooky vibes about five months early for Halloween.
The detailed image of the Crystal Ball Nebula was captured by the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope, which is operated by the U.S. National Science Foundation NOIRLab.
The Crystal Ball Nebula is no new treat for astronomers. The object, located about 1,500 light-years from Earth, was first discovered in 1790 by German-British astronomer William Herschel.
The 8.1-meter Gemini North telescope, located on the summit of Maunakea in Hawai‘i, has captured NGC 1514, nicknamed the Crystal Ball Nebula, in awe-inspiring detail. This nebula, with its mesmerizing glow of gas, harbors hints of a past stellar death, and its asymmetrical shell is now being shaped by the binary pair that lies at its center. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA)
Herschel called objects like this “planetary nebulae” because of their spherical shape, but according to NOIRLab, they have nothing to do with planets. Instead, they form when a star nears the end of its life and sheds its outer layers, creating an orblike cloud of gas.
The Crystal Ball Nebula may look like it has one bright star in the center, but it actually contains two stars orbiting each other.
One of those stars was once much larger than the Sun. As it died, it released its outer layers into space. The movement of the two stars, along with their powerful winds, helped shape the expanding gas into the uneven, layered nebula seen today.
Surrounding the Gemini North telescope are three natural light phenomena that can only be seen in the darkest of skies. These dark skies surround this half of the International Gemini Observatory, supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation. (Image Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Slovinský)
The two stars take about nine years to orbit each other, the longest known orbit for a binary pair inside a planetary nebula.
While the image may inspire thoughts of staring into the future, NOIRLab said the light captured in the image actually left its source about 1,500 years ago, traveling across the universe before reaching Earth.
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