            APOD: 2018 May 9 - The Red Rectangle Nebula from Hubble

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
 fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a
                           professional astronomer.

                                  2018 May 9
                                      [2]
                    The Red Rectangle Nebula from Hubble
  Image Credit: Hubble [3] , NASA [4] , ESA [5] ; Processing & License [6] :
                               Judy Schmidt [7]

Explanation: How was the unusual Red Rectangle nebula created? At the nebula's
center is an aging binary star system [8] that surely powers the nebula but
does not, as yet, explain its colors. The unusual shape of the Red Rectangle
[9] is likely due to a thick dust torus which pinches the otherwise spherical
outflow [10]  into tip-touching cone shapes [11] . Because we view the torus
[12]  edge-on, the boundary edges of the cone shape [13] s seem to form an X
[14] . The distinct rungs [15]  suggest the outflow occurs [16]  in fits and
starts. The unusual colors of the nebula are less well understood [17] ,
however, and speculation [18]  holds that they are partly provided by
hydrocarbon molecules [19]  that may actually be building blocks [20]  for
organic life. The Red Rectangle nebula lies about 2,300 light years [21]  away
towards [22] the constellation of the Unicorn (Monoceros [23] ). The nebula is
shown here in great detail [24]  as recently reprocessed image from Hubble
Space Telescope [25] . In a few million years, as one of the central stars
becomes further depleted [26]  of nuclear fuel, the Red Rectangle nebula will
likely bloom [27]  into a planetary nebula [28] .

                      Tomorrow's picture: open space [29]

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    Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff [41] (MTU [42] ) & Jerry Bonnell [43]
                                  (UMCP [44] )
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Site notes:
  [1] archivepix.html
  [2] image/1805/RedRectangle_HubbleSchmidt_1140.jpg
  [3] https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html
  [4] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [5] http://www.esa.int/
  [6] https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
  [7] http://geckzilla.com/
  [8] ap991219.html
  [9] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_rectangle
  [10] ap070811.html
  [11] ap070416.html
  [12] https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/torus.html
  [13] http://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/cone.html
  [14] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X
  [15] ap040513.html
  [16] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2011ApJ...740...27K
  [17] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2009Ap%26SS.323..337G
  [18] http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016A%26A...593A..92B
  [19] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbon
  [20] http://www.astrobio.net/interview/1992/the-aromatic-world
  [21]
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/Numbers/Math/Mathematical_Thinking/
how_long_is_a_light_year.htm
  [22] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lJGzueLRQY
  [23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoceros
  [24] https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla/10159700064
  [25] ap090525.html
  [26] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_evolution
  [27] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjCzPp-MK48
  [28] planetary_nebulae.html
  [29] ap180510.html
  [30] ap180508.html
  [31] archivepix.html
  [32] lib/apsubmit2015.html
  [33] lib/aptree.html
  [34] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  [35] calendar/allyears.html
  [36] /apod.rss
  [37] lib/edlinks.html
  [38] lib/about_apod.html
  [39] http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=180509
  [40] ap180510.html
  [41] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  [42] http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  [43] https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  [44] http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  [45] lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  [46] https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  [47] https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  [48] https://www.nasa.gov/
  [49] https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  [50] http://www.mtu.edu/
