BRENT: The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has a new image of the Medusa Nebula, showing the celestial object in exquisite detail. The image of the nebula, which is nearly 1,500 light years away from Earth, was captured using the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile.
The Medusa Nebula is also known as Sharpless 2-274. It was seen in the constellation of Gemini the Twins. The object is stretching around 4 light years in diameter, and is residing approximately 1,500 light years from our own planet. For the astronomers it was difficult to view the object because it is exceptionally dim.
Sharpless 2-274 has got its common name from the Gorgon Medusa, of Greek mythology, who possessed a head full of snakes. Astronomers were reminded of this serpentine hair by the red filaments of hydrogen gas in the nebula, whereas oxygen, seen in green, appeared to form a face.
Astronomers discovered this nebula in 1955, although it was originally thought to be the leftovers of a supernova. In 1971, astronomers in the Soviet Union found that it was a planetary nebula formed from gases expelled by a dying red giant star.
Stars expand and contract at the time of their death throes due to which the release of gas can be intermittent that results into regions of dense and rarefied gases. The dying star is surrounded by the cloud for around 10,000 years before it drifts off to space over the course of thousands of years.
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