A new image showcases a dazzling celestial object — a star, paired with another, in the throes of dying that resembles a crystal ball.
Scientists captured the image of NGC 1514, nicknamed the Crystal Ball Nebula, with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph. The instrument is mounted on the Gemini North telescope, which is located on Maunakea, a dormant volcano in Hawaii.
Researchers set aside a few hours during the evenings to observe the skies and identify something awe-inspiring, said astronomer Travis Rector.
“It’s a way to share with people just how amazing our universe is, so the nebula was not a science target, it was one that was chosen just because it looks really cool,” said Rector, a member of the NOIRLab team that took the image. NOIRLab is short for the National Science Foundation’s National Optical-Infrared Astronomy Research Laboratory.
The image reveals the striking details of the planetary nebula, which lies about 1,500 light-years from Earth in the Taurus constellation. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year, which is 5.88 trillion miles (9.46 trillion kilometers) — meaning the light depicted in the image was emitted about 1,500 years ago.
