A giant and strange cosmic jellyfish has just been discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope, which NASA says is the dazzling end of an old star like the sun.
NASA has just released a surprising close-up image of a bright, purple and almost transparent object in the constellation Orion (also known as Hunter, Vietnamese named Orion or Hunter). They are described by this space agency as “a cosmic jellyfish”. Of course, it is not a living creature. This is the NGC 2022 planetary nebula.
“Planetary nebula” is an old term which is now known as a misnomer, but which is now familiar and is still used in astronomical documents. NGC 2022 is actually a giant solar-type star but much older, already in one of its last stages of evolution.
NGC 2022 is at the end of the process of converting hydrogen to helium in its core by nuclear fusion. The two types of light atoms bonded or merged, creating a new, heavier atom until the star ran out of hydrogen completely in the nucleus. Then gravity forces the star to contract, causing the temperature to rise. At that time, helium had sufficient temperature and pressure conditions to fuse with carbon. This process causes the star to develop further into a “red giant”.
Then, the “red giant” separates its outer layers of gas, frees space and forms the astonishing purple object observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. “More than half of a star’s mass can be dumped into space in this way, forming a ‘shell’ of gas. At the same time, the star shrinks and gets hotter and hotter, emitting rays. ultraviolet rays which make the gases emitted glow. ” – explained the Hubble team.
The nucleus of the old star is located in the center of the intensely brilliant “planetary nebula” with an orange-yellow color; while its radiance illuminates the surrounding gas clouds with pink and purple undertones.
This object could be the future of our Sun. The sun is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, already in the midst of the transition from hydrogen to helium. The end of the Sun – and possibly the entire Earth – could occur in about 4.5 billion years.
