Hubble Captures Re-Energized And Beautiful Planetary Nebula In Constellation Cygnus

Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com – Abell 78 is not only an unusual but also a very beautiful planetary nebula, located around 5,000 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus (the Swan).

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Guerrero; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt

This planetary nebula is approximately three light-years across and represents a brief final phase in stellar evolution that our Sun will also experience in about 5 billion years.

It has a fainter halo consisting mostly of hydrogen, and an inner elliptical ring that is mostly made of helium. After exhausting the nuclear fuel in their cores, stars with a mass of around 0.8 to eight times the mass of our Sun collapse to form dense and hot white dwarf stars.

As this process occurs, the dying star will throw off its outer layers of material, forming an elaborate cloud of gas and dust known as a planetary nebula. This phenomenon is not uncommon, and planetary nebulae are a popular focus for astrophotographers because of their often beautiful and complex shapes. However, a few like Abell 78 are the result of a so-called “born again” star.

Although the core of the star has stopped burning hydrogen and helium, a thermonuclear runaway at its surface ejects material at high speeds.

This ejecta shocks and sweeps up the material of the old nebula, producing the filaments and irregular shell around the central star seen in this image, which features data from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 and the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System.

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Written by Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com Staff