High in the night sky during this holiday season, a festive cosmic tree twinkles with starlight, inviting us to pause and appreciate the beauty of space. This image, released on December 15th, 2020, features the most detailed view of NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula, ever captured by the Hubble Space Telescope and the new James Webb Space Telescope.
Called the “Eye of God” by some, this stunning object is located about 700 light-years from us in the constellation of Aquarius. The bright core of the nebula glows with a “Christmas-tree”-like shape, with faintly glowing butterfly like wings bearing an uncanny resemblance to a decorated holiday tree.
Hidden within this galaxy is an entire solar system located near the center of the nebula. In the background, the Hubble telescope has captured millions of stars, turned into tiny dots of light due to its distance from Earth.
The nebula’s distinctive shape was not created by hydrocarbons and dust. Instead, its distinctive shape wasouraged by extreme stellar winds. These violent outbursts are caused by the bright, hot star at the center of the nebula that is constantly firing out powerful jets of gas into the surrounding clouds. Over time, the jet outflows have sculpted the gas and dust, resulting in the “cosmic Christmas tree” shape.
The color of the nebula has also been expertly captured. The yellow and green comes from excited oxygen and nitrogen atoms, while the red patches are hydrogen gas, and the blue patches signify a cool dust.
The image of the cosmic Christmas tree was created through a process known as ‘composite imaging’. This combines multiple images taken with different filters on Hubble and Webb, and helps reveal several of the intricate details of the nebula.
This image is a wonderful reminder of the beauty of the night sky. From a holiday tree to amazing galaxies, there is something to marvel at in the heavens. So, when you take a break from the festivities this holiday season, why not look up into the night sky and appreciate the joy of the season – cosmic style!