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Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Helix Nebula from Blanco and Hubble
NASA ^ | October 12, 2014 | (see photo credit)

Posted on 10/11/2014 9:28:32 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

Explanation: How did a star create the Helix nebula? The shapes of planetary nebula like the Helix are important because they likely hold clues to how stars like the Sun end their lives. Observations by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope and the 4-meter Blanco Telescope in Chile, however, have shown the Helix is not really a simple helix. Rather, it incorporates two nearly perpendicular disks as well as arcs, shocks, and even features not well understood. Even so, many strikingly geometric symmetries remain. How a single Sun-like star created such beautiful yet geometric complexity is a topic of research. The Helix Nebula is the nearest planetary nebula to Earth, lies only about 700 light years away toward the constellation of Aquarius, and spans about 3 light-years.

October 12, 2014

(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...


TOPICS: Astronomy; Astronomy Picture of the Day; Science
KEYWORDS: apod; astronomy; helixnebula; nebula; science
[Credit: C. R. O'Dell, (Vanderbilt) et al. ESA, NOAO, NASA]

1 posted on 10/11/2014 9:28:33 PM PDT by SunkenCiv
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To: brytlea; cripplecreek; decimon; bigheadfred; KoRn; Grammy; steelyourfaith; Mmogamer; dayglored; ...
The Big One

2 posted on 10/11/2014 9:29:01 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

3 posted on 10/11/2014 9:39:40 PM PDT by Slyfox (Satan's goal is to rub out the image of God he sees in the face of every human.)
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To: SunkenCiv
Helix!?

Looks to me like the Giant Eyeball In Space Lookin' Right At Me nebula.

4 posted on 10/11/2014 10:19:37 PM PDT by TigersEye (ISIS is the tip of the spear. The spear is Islam.)
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To: Slyfox

... no doubt the eye of a beautiful woman ....


5 posted on 10/12/2014 2:12:14 AM PDT by Ken522
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To: SunkenCiv

The All-Time Classic Hubble Bubble! :-)


6 posted on 10/12/2014 5:09:37 AM PDT by left that other site (You shall know the Truth, and The Truth Shall Set You Free.)
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To: SunkenCiv
Not enough pretty stuff in space that they have to post a rerun?
Yeah, it's an unusually beautiful rerun, but that's why everybody
remembers seeing it the first time.

Didn't someone say that it looks like the "Eye of God?"

Anyway, no fault of yours that they're running out of pretty
pictures from space, and it really is worth seeing again.

And spanning "only" three light years, it's also a cute little thing.

</just kidding you sweetie>
7 posted on 10/12/2014 8:01:25 AM PDT by TheOldLady
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To: SunkenCiv
Whoever selects the APOD subject matter, He liks this one a lot…
8 posted on 10/12/2014 9:04:57 AM PDT by mikrofon (APOD Bump)
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To: TigersEye

Helix? I am holding out for the Rush Nebula.


9 posted on 10/13/2014 4:11:20 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: SunkenCiv
My recent image of the Helix, not exactly Hubble quality of course but it's a start.
10 posted on 10/14/2014 7:08:25 AM PDT by messierhunter
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To: TheOldLady
Yeah, I don't know why they feel the need to do reruns, there's no shortage of new images from Hubble, some quite beautiful. I don't have the time to process them at the pace of one a day, but I do try to document a handful from the past month.

Hubble Highlights for September 2014
11 posted on 10/14/2014 7:17:44 AM PDT by messierhunter
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