             APOD: 2018 May 11 - NGC 1360: The Robin s Egg Nebula

                         Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! [1] Each day a different image or photograph of our
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                                  2018 May 11
                                      [2]
                      NGC 1360: The Robin's Egg Nebula
      Image Credit & Copyright [3] : Josep Drudis [4] , Don Goldman [5]

Explanation: This pretty cosmic cloud [6]  lies some 1,500 light-years away,
it shape and color reminiscent of a blue robin's egg. It spans about 3
light-years, nested securely within the boundaries of the southern
constellation Fornax. Recognized as [7] a planetary nebula it doesn't
represent a beginning though, but instead corresponds to a brief and final
phase in the evolution of an aging star [8] . In fact [9] , visible in the
telescopic image the central star of NGC 1360 is known to be a binary star
system likely consisting of two evolved white dwarf stars, less massive but
much hotter than the Sun. Their intense and otherwise invisible ultraviolet
radiation has stripped away electrons from the atoms in the surrounding
gaseous shroud. The predominant blue-green hue of NGC 1360 seen here is the
strong emission produced as electrons recombine with doubly ionized oxygen
atoms.

            Tomorrow's picture: a plurality of singularities [10]

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  [5] http://astrodonimaging.com/
  [6] https://astrodrudis.com/ngc-1360-the-robins-egg-nebula/
  [7] https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/ image_feature_2395.html
  [8] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Stellar_evolution#Mature_stars
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