CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly.
The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture Wednesday.
Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles.
At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. The discarded gas forms the butterflylike wings billowing from the aging star, whose heat causes the gas to glow.
Schoolchildren in Chile chose this astronomical target to celebrate 25 years of operation by the International Gemini Observatory.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
latest_posts
- 1
From a new flagship space telescope to lunar exploration, global cooperation – and competition – will make 2026 an exciting year for space - 25 Side interests That Work on Psychological wellness
- 3Advocacy groups react after Mattel introduces 1st Barbie doll with autism
- 4Ergonomic Office Seats for Work spaces
- 5Cannabis reclassification could 'open the floodgates' for research, scientists say
- Pick Your #1 Kind Of Bread
- Antivirus Programming for Exhaustive Security
- Surveys of Music Collections by Film Stars
- Hilary Duff's husband responds to Ashley Tisdale's 'toxic' mom group claims: The drama, explained
- 'Stranger Things' series finale trailer shows Hawkins gang gearing up for last battle with Vecna
- The Way to Monetary Health: Individual budget Change
- Big Bear glows with big stars | Space photo of the day for Dec. 31, 2025
- Hot peppers sent him to the ER. Two years later, a ‘ghost bill’ arrived.
- Denny's is shutting down restaurants around the country. What's behind the closures?
