NGC 5189
NGC 5189 is a chaotic-looking planetary nebula that lies about 550 parsecs (1,800 light-years) away. This image shows long streamers of gas, glowing dust clouds, and cometary knots pointing away from the central star. Its unruly appearance suggests some extraordinary action at the heart of this planetary nebula. At the core of NGC 5189 is the hot, hydrogen-deficient star HD 117622. It appears to be blowing off its thin remnant atmosphere into interstellar space at a speed of about 2,700 kilometers (about 1,700 miles) per second. As the material leaves the star, it immediately begins to collide with previously ejected clouds of gas and dust surrounding the star. This collision of the fast-moving material with slower motion gas shapes the clouds, which are illuminated by the star.
| Observatory: | Gemini Observatory (South) Cerro Pachon, Chile |
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| Telescope: | Gemini South |
| Instrument: | GMOS-S |
| Astronomer: | Gemini Observatory and T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) |
| Date of Observation: | 04-24-2006 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | Hydrogen-alpha (yellow), Oxygen [OIII] (red) and Sulfur [SII] (blue) |
| Exposure Times: | 20min in each filter |
| Location of Image: | Musca |
| Field of View: | 5.0 x 5.0 arcsminutes |
| Orientation: | North is up, East is to the left |
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| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
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