                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

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

                              2020 November 24

                         The Helix Nebula from CFHT
      Image Credit & Copyright: CFHT, Coelum, MegaCam, J.-C. Cuillandre
                       (CFHT) & G. A. Anselmi (Coelum)

   Explanation: Will our Sun look like this one day? The Helix Nebula is
   one of brightest and closest examples of a planetary nebula, a gas
   cloud created at the end of the life of a Sun-like star. The outer
   gasses of the star expelled into space appear from our vantage point as
   if we are looking down a helix. The remnant central stellar core,
   destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so energetic it
   causes the previously expelled gas to fluoresce. The Helix Nebula,
   given a technical designation of NGC 7293, lies about 700 light-years
   away towards the constellation of the Water Bearer (Aquarius) and spans
   about 2.5 light-years. The featured picture was taken with the
   Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) located atop a dormant volcano in
   Hawaii, USA. A close-up of the inner edge of the Helix Nebula shows
   complex gas knots of unknown origin.

                   Tomorrow's picture: andromedian horizon
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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