January 21, 2021

The planetary nebulae NGC 6302, also known as the Butterfly Nebula

At the 237th meeting of the American Astronomical Society, new data were presented regarding the planetary nebulae NGC 6302, also known as the Butterfly Nebula, and NGC 7027, also known as the Jewel Bug Nebula. A team of researchers used observations made with the Hubble Space Telescope at different wavelengths ranging from near-ultraviolet to near-infrared to study their properties. This made it possible to obtain new details that offer new insights into the ongoing processes in which dying stars are ejecting layers of ionized gas in a chaotic way.