Red Spider Nebula
| Red Spider Nebula | |
|---|---|
 A Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 6537 Credit: NASA/STScI/ESA |
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| Observation data (Epoch J2000.0) |
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| Right ascension | 18h 05m 13.1s |
| Declination | -19° 50′ 34.9″ |
| Distance | ~5000 ly[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13 |
| Apparent dimensions (V) | 1.5 arcmin |
| Constellation | Sagittarius |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Radius | ?? ly |
| Absolute magnitude (V) | - |
| Notable features | hot white dwarf |
| Other designations | NGC 6537 |
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See also: Planetary nebula, Lists of nebulae |
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The Red Spider Nebula is a planetary nebula located in the constellation Sagittarius. The nebula has a prominent two-lobed shape, possibly due to a binary companion or magnetic fields.
The central white dwarf, the remaining compact core of the original star, produces a powerful and hot (≈10,000 K) wind blowing with a speed of 300 kilometers per second, which has generated waves 100 billion kilometres high. These winds are what give this nebula its unique 'spider' shape and also contribute to the expansion of the nebula.[2]
The star at the center of the Red Spider Nebula is surrounded by a dust shell making its exact properties hard to determine. Its surface temperature is probably 150,000-250,000 K[1] although a temperature of 340,000 K or even 500,000 K is not ruled out, making it among the hottest white dwarf stars known.
The Red Spider Nebula lies toward the constellation of Sagittarius. Its distance has been variously estimated as 1900 light years[2][3] or, more likely, 3000-8000 light-years.[1]
Notes [edit]
- ^ a b c (Matsuura et al. 2005)
- ^ a b "Red Spider Nebula (NGC 6537)". Encyclopedia of Science. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
- ^ http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/html/heic0109a.html
References [edit]
- Matsuura, M.; Zijlstra, A. A.; Gray, M. D.; Molster, F. J.; Waters, L. B. F. M. (October 2005), "The symmetric dust shell and the central star of the bipolar planetary nebula NGC 6537", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 363 (2): 628–640, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.09464.x, retrieved 2012 October 31
External links [edit]
- Red Spider Nebula at ESA/Hubble
- White dwarf sends ripples through Red Spider Nebula at Space.com
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day
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