Monday, February 19, 2007
Daily Mail
A swirling mass of red and blue, this stunning image belies a dark moment in the Universe.
When replicated by the Sun, it will spell the end of life on Earth.
The image, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows in incredible detail the death throes of a star identical to our own sun.
The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, sending them hurtling though the depths of space.
One day, the Sun will also spew out its superhot contents as it implodes, engulfing and consuming the Earth in the process.
At the end of its life, all that will remain will be its hot core, or white dwarf, similar to the white dot in the centre of the dying star shown.
Known simply as NGC 2440, the star imploded 4,000 years ago, after burning out the supply of hydrogen it uses as fuel.
But the star was so far away that it has taken this long for the light from it to reach the Hubble telescope which is orbiting the Earth.
Dr Lars Christensen, of the Hubble project, said that a similar fate belies Earth - but not for another five billion years.
'This is just what will happen to our own Sun,' he said. 'It will collapse into a very dense object, cool down and die.'
Daily Mail
A swirling mass of red and blue, this stunning image belies a dark moment in the Universe.
When replicated by the Sun, it will spell the end of life on Earth.
The image, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, shows in incredible detail the death throes of a star identical to our own sun.
The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, sending them hurtling though the depths of space.
One day, the Sun will also spew out its superhot contents as it implodes, engulfing and consuming the Earth in the process.
At the end of its life, all that will remain will be its hot core, or white dwarf, similar to the white dot in the centre of the dying star shown.
Known simply as NGC 2440, the star imploded 4,000 years ago, after burning out the supply of hydrogen it uses as fuel.
But the star was so far away that it has taken this long for the light from it to reach the Hubble telescope which is orbiting the Earth.
Dr Lars Christensen, of the Hubble project, said that a similar fate belies Earth - but not for another five billion years.
'This is just what will happen to our own Sun,' he said. 'It will collapse into a very dense object, cool down and die.'
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