European Association for Astronomy Education

Source: heic2011 — Photo Release

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope demonstrates its full range of imaging capabilities with two new images of planetary nebulae. The images depict two nearby young planetary nebulae, NGC 6302, dubbed the Butterfly Nebula, and NGC 7027. Both are among the dustiest planetary nebulae known and both contain unusually large masses of gas, which made them an interesting pair for study in parallel by a team of researchers. (learn more)

Source: ESA/Hubble Photo Release heic1608

The Bubble Nebula.
Image Credits: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team.

This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image, released to celebrate Hubble’s 26th year in orbit, captures in stunning clarity what looks like a gigantic cosmic soap bubble. The object, known as the Bubble Nebula, is in fact a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the brilliant star within it. The vivid new portrait of this dramatic scene wins the Bubble Nebula a place in the exclusive Hubble hall of fame, following an impressive lineage of Hubble anniversary images. (learn more)

Source: ESA/Hubble Photo Release heic1518

The Twin Jet Nebula.
image credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA. Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt

The shimmering colours visible in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image show off the remarkable complexity of the Twin Jet Nebula. The new image highlights the nebula’s shells and its knots of expanding gas in striking detail. Two iridescent lobes of material stretch outwards from a central star system. Within these lobes two huge jets of gas are streaming from the star system at speeds in excess of one million kilometres per hour. (read more)

Source: Photo Release eso1532

The planetary nebula ESO 378-1.Image credits: ESO.

This extraordinary bubble, glowing like the ghost of a star in the haunting darkness of space, may appear supernatural and mysterious, but it is a familiar astronomical object: a planetary nebula, the remnants of a dying star. This is the best view of the little-known object ESO 378-1 yet obtained and was captured by ESO's Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. (learn more).

Source: ESA/Hubble Science Release heic1316

Bipolar planetary nebula PN Hb 12.
Image credits: NASA, ESA. Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington

Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESO's New Technology Telescope to explore more than 100 planetary nebulae in the central bulge of our galaxy. They have found that butterfly-shaped members of this cosmic family tend to be mysteriously aligned — a surprising result given their different histories and varied properties.(read more)

Source: ESA

Hubble presents the most detailed observations ever of the Ring Nebula.
Image credits: NASA, ESA, and C. Robert O'Dell (Vanderbilt University).

Source:ESA/Hubble Photo Release heic1310

The Ring Nebula (M57).
Image credits: NASA, ESA, and C. Robert O’Dell (Vanderbilt University).

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most detailed observations ever of the Ring Nebula (Messier 57). This image reveals intricate structure only hinted at in previous observations, and has allowed scientists to construct a model of the nebula in 3D — showing the true shape of this striking object.(read more)

Source: Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics

Despite numerous attempts by astronomers across the world, the mysterious dying star at the heart of the Bug nebula - one of the brightest and most beautiful of the planetary nebulae - has never been seen before. The first image of the star at the center of the Bug Nebula (NGC 6302) has now been taken by a team of astronomers at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, using the newly refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. This star, one of the hottest in the galaxy, has a temperature of about 200,000 Kelvin – 33 times hotter than the Sun – and is at the center of one of the most beautiful planetary nebula in the galaxy.

(read more)