Image: Weighing in on the Dumbbell Nebula

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Description: The Dumbbell nebula, also known as Messier 27, pumps out infrared light in this image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope. Spitzers infrared view shows a different side of this recycled stellar material. It is interesting how different Spitzers view of the Dumbbell looks compared to optical images, comments Dr. Joseph Hora of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. The diffuse green glow, which is brightest near the center, is probably showing us hot gas atoms being heated by the ultraviolet light from the central white dwarf. A collection of clumps fill the central part of the nebula, and red-coloured radial spokes extend well beyond. Astronomers think these features represent molecules of hydrogen gas, mixed with traces of heavier elements.
Title: Weighing in on the Dumbbell Nebula
Credit: JPL
Author: NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Hora (Harvard-Smithsonian CfA)
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
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