A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new image of a majestic and graceful cosmic butterfly.
The National Science Foundation's NoirLab published the photo on Wednesday. In the photo, it looks like the glowing “wings” are bursting. Although the bipolar nebula goes by the nicknames “Butterfly Nebula”, “Bug Nebula” or “Caldwell 69”, its official name is NGC 6302.
This image provided by NSF NOIRLab shows NGC 6302, a billowing planetary nebula that resembles a cosmic butterfly. / Credit: NSF NOIRLab via AP
Photographed last month by the Gemini Southern Telescope (half of the Gemini International Observatory on Cerro Pachon, a mountain in central Chile), the aptly named Butterfly Nebula lies between 2,500 and 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. One light year is equal to 6 trillion miles.
At the center of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf that shed its outer layers of gas long ago. The ejected gas forms wings of the aging star, similar to the wings of a butterfly, whose heat causes the gas to glow.
Students in Chile chose this astronomical target to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Gemini International Observatory.
“This scenic object was chosen as a target for the 8.1-meter [26.5-foot] telescope created by students from Chile as part of an image competition dedicated to the first bright anniversary of Gemini”, NoirLab wrote on your website. “The competition brought together students from across the Gemini telescopes to celebrate the legacy that Gemini International Observatory has created since its completion with the first light of Gemini South in November 2000.”
According to NoirLab, it is not known exactly when NGC 6302 was discovered, but a 1907 study by American astronomer Edward E. Barnard is often cited. Scottish astronomer James Dunlop may also have discovered it in 1826.
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