Hubble Space Telescope Photographed Jaw-Dropping Views of Dying Star ‘Calabash Nebula’

Astronomers, by drawing on NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have successfully captured the spectacular images of dying star, located nearly 5,000 light-years from Earth. The dying star, called ‘Calabash Nebula’ or ‘Rotten Egg Nebula’ is positioned in the direction of the Puppis constellation, approximately 5,000 light-years from the rim of Earth. On Friday, both NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) released the images of Rotten Egg Nebula for public access.

To recall, the Calabash Nebula, also called Rotten Egg Nebula is a protoplanetary nebula (PPN), which is 1.4 light years (13 Pm) long and located in the constellation Puppis. Based on the nebula’s appearance, the scientists first proposed the name ‘Calabash Nebula’ in 1989. The star contains a comparatively big amount of sulfur, for which it is named as Rotten Egg Nebula. The densest parts of the star are made out of substances driven out recently by the central star and going faster in conflicting directions.

The image clearly demonstrates the movement of the star through a speedy transformation from a red massive to a terrestrial nebula. During this process, the start also blows its external stratum of gas and dirt out into the adjoining space. The recently ejected substance is accelerating in opposite directions with enormous speed. The gas shown in yellow part of the image is stepping up nearly one million kilometers per hour (621,371 miles per hour).

According to the explanation given by the European Space Agency (ESA) with the Hubble-captured picture, “Capturing the view of stars in the stage of its evolution is extremely rare. As it takes place within the blink of an eye, it is almost impossible to click the views of the supernatural phenomenon. But with Hubble Space Telescope, the astronomers have succeeded in framing the extremely rare views.”

As said by ESA, “Rotten Egg Nebula once was a red giant, and now it is in its transitionary phase. It is slowly becoming a planetary nebula. The images captured by Hubble reveals the noticeable layers of gas and dust of the star, being Shack and thrown outward. The expelled material, which is currently creating clouds, is expected to eventually figure new stars and planets.

It means, “Over the upcoming thousand years, the Rotten Egg Nebula will be transformed into a fully-fledged terrestrial nebula.”