NASA is celebrating the Hubble Space Telescope’s 34th birthday with this
elegant image of the Little Dumbbell Nebula,
also known as Messier 76, or just M76 for short.
This planetary nebula, an expanding shell of gas around an aging star,
was created when a dying star cast off its outer layers.
It’s located 3,400 light-years away
in the constellation Perseus.
M76 is composed of a ring, seen edge-on as the
central bar structure, and two lobes on either opening of the ring.
Before the star burned out, it ejected the ring of gas and dust.
The ring was likely sculpted by a binary companion star,
which may eventually have been consumed by the primary star.
The primary star is collapsing to form a white dwarf.
It is one of the hottest stellar remnants known at a scorching
250.000 degrees Fahrenheit. 24 times our Sun’s surface temperature.
The sizzling white dwarf is visible as a pinpoint in the center of the nebula.
Pinched off by the disk, two lobes of hot gas are escaping from the top and bottom
of the “belt,” along the star’s rotation axis that is perpendicular to the disk.
These lobes are being propelled by the hurricane-like
outflow of material from the dying star,
tearing across space at 2 million miles per hour.
This torrential “stellar wind” is plowing into
cooler, slower-moving gas that was ejected at an
earlier stage in the star’s life, when it was a red giant.
Ferocious ultraviolet radiation from
the super-hot star is causing the gasses to glow.
Because Hubble orbits above Earth’s atmosphere, it can give us these clear
views of the many wonders in our universe.
For 34 years, the Hubble Space Telescope
has changed the way we think of space and our place in the cosmos.
Hubble has refined our understanding of the age of the universe
and its rate of expansion. Its deep field images
have made it possible for us to see across billions of light-years, revealing ancient,
adolescent galaxies that we can compare with our own Milky Way.
Closer to home, Hubble is revealing
vibrant activity in our solar system
and in other star and planetary systems across the galaxy.
Hubble remains in good health and is expected to
continue its exploration of the universe for years
to come, with unique capabilities that complement
other telescopes like Webb.
Five astronaut servicing missions,
along with an expert technical team on the ground,
have kept the telescope at the peak of its scientific capabilities.
You can find out more about the Hubble Space Telescope
at our website: nasa.gov/hubble and on social media @NASAHubble.
[ Slow zoom out of image. Bright central core surrounded by two lobes on either end, which are made of light purples and blues blended together. ]
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