NASA Hubble Space Telescope has done it yet again. The telescope has snapped a mesmerizing image of “Necklace Nebula” stars. NASA describes it as a “diamond necklace of cosmic proportions,” and it is located 15,000 light-years away from our planet. These Necklace Nebula stars are a part of the Sagitta Constellation.
The Necklace Nebula is believed to have born around 10,000 years ago when the bigger star of the two in a tight orbit expanded and immersed the other star. But the smaller star continued its orbit, causing the larger sun to spin more quickly.
How was Necklace Nebula formed?
This interaction between two stellar bodies sent debris and gas into surrounding space. The extruded materials create a colorful array as captured in the image by the Hubble telescope. The diamond-like objects are clusters of dense gas.
The two stars involved in this formation are still visible; however, not separate entities. They are visible as a white dot in the middle of the greenish inner ring. Both the stars are still in a close orbit, with one revolution taking nearly the same time as the Earth.
The latest image provides a new side of the Necklace Nebula, thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope snapped this nebula back in 2011, but the image wasn’t as colorful as the latest one.
Hubble Telescope over the years
The telescope recently turned 31, and to celebrate it, Hubble captured AG Carinae, one of the brightest stars in our galaxy. NASA describes it as a “celebrity star” as it has a glowing gas-and-dust nebula that began forming around 10,000 years ago after an eruptive process.
Hubble also revisited the Veil Nebula, taking another striking image of tracers of ionized gas caused due to a supernova explosion. The image was produced using new post-processing and highlights different emissions. The previous image was taken in 2015.
The Hubble telescope was launched on April 24, 1990. NASA and ESA believed that the telescope will survive for at least 15 years snapping exciting images of the cosmos. However, the telescope defied the odds and is still functional after three decades despite running into several technical issues.
