Abell 78

Click on image for larger version.

Stars are made of mostly hydrogen gas. Throughout their lives they convert hydrogen gas to helium and other heavier elements in their cores. When they die, these materials are released back into the galactic medium and potentially become the building blocks of the next generation of stars. Abell 78 dramatically demonstrates this by displaying two very distinct shells of gas. The reddish outer envelope is composed of mostly hydrogen gas. This outer shell is the unprocessed hyrdrogen that used to make up the outer part of the star. The inner green ring of material is made mostly of helium- which is direct evidence of how stars process elements. The bright central star (the core, a white dwarf) still shines energetically and makes these shells of gas glow. This image was taken through thick smoke and haze- but is bright enough to capture the overall structure. You may need to look at this image under low-light levels.

Equipment

20in RC Optical Systems telescope Operating at f/8.4
Paramount ME Robotic Telescope Mount
SBIG ST10XME CCD camera with color filter wheel

L R G B color production was used to create this image.

Luminance = 75 minutes binned 2x2
 Red = 20 minutes binned 3x3
 Green = 30 minutes binned 3x3
 Blue = 20 minutes binned 2x2
  • Taken through thick smoke and haze.

    • Minimum credit line: Adam Block/NOAO/AURA/NSF

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    Updated: 07/10/2003