Nota de prensa
HACIA EL OJO DE HELIX
25 de Febrero de 2009
Una nueva imagen profunda de la magnífica nebulosa planetaria Helix se obtuvo empleando el Wide Field Imager del Observatorio La Silla de ESO. A pesar de una exposición relativamente corta, la imagen muestra un rico trasfondo de galaxias distantes que generalmente no son visibles en otras fotografías de este objeto.
La nebulosa Helix, NGC 7293, queda a alrededor de 700 años-luz de distancia, en la constelación de Acuario. Es uno de los ejemplos más cercanos y más espectacular de una nebulosa planetaria. Estos objetos exóticos no tienen nada que ver con planetas, sino que son el último florecer de estrellas semejantes al Sol antes de su retiro final como enanas blancas. Capas de gas son expulsadas desde la superficie de la estrella, a menudo en patrones complejos y bellos, y brillan bajo la radiación ultravioleta emitida por la tenue pero muy calurosa estrella central. El anillo principal de la nebulosa Helix mide alrededor de dos años-luz de ancho, equivalente a la mitad de la distancia que hay entre el Sol y su vecino estelar más cercano.
A pesar de ser fotográficamente muy espectacular, Helix es difícil de observar en luz visible ya que su luz está finamente dispersa a lo largo de una gran área del cielo y la historia de su descubrimiento es un tanto oscura. Aparece por primera vez en un listado de objetos nuevos compilado por el astrónomo alemán Karl Ludwig Harding en 1824. El nombre Helix proviene de las primeras observaciones que revelaban la forma de un tosco tirabuzón.
Aunque Helix se parece mucho a una rosquilla, los estudios han mostrado que posiblemente está formada por al menos dos discos separados con anillos y filamentos externos. El disco interior más brillante parece estar expandiéndose a unos 100.000 km/h y habría demorado alrededor de 12.000 años en formarse. Una mirada cuidadosa a su parte central revela no sólo los nódulos sino también muchas galaxias remotas que se ven a través del gas brillante finamente extendido. Algunas de ellas parecen estar reunidas en grupos de galaxias separados, que se esparcen a través de varias partes de la fotografía, como por ejemplo, alrededor de la enana blanca central.
Debido a que Helix está relativamente cerca -cubre un área del cielo cercana a la cuarta parte de la Luna llena-, puede ser estudiada en mucho mayor detalle que la mayoría de otras nebulosas planetarias y se ha descubierto que tiene una estructura inesperada y compleja. Todo lo que rodea el interior del anillo son pequeñas formaciones, conocidas como “nódulos cometarios”, con tenues colas que se extienden a partir de la estrella central. Se parecen mucho a pequeñas gotas de líquido escurriendo por un vidrio. A pesar de que se ven pequeños, cada nódulo es casi del tamaño de nuestro Sistema Solar. Estos nódulos han sido extensamente estudiados, tanto con el Very Large Telescope de ESO como con el Telescopio Espacial Hubble de NASA/ESA, pero aún son sólo parcialmente comprendidos.
Enlaces
- Artículo sobre observaciones anteriores del VLT en el ESO Messenger (inglés)
- Observaciones anteriores de Hubble (inglés)
Contactos
Henri Boffin
ESO
Garching, Germany
Teléfono: +49 89 3200 6222
Correo electrónico: hboffin@eso.org
Valentina Rodriguez
ESO
Chile
Teléfono: +56 2 463 3123
Correo electrónico: vrodrigu@eso.org
José Miguel Mas Hesse (Contacto para medios de comunicación en España)
Red de Difusión Científica de ESO
y Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA)
Madrid, Spain
Teléfono: +34 918131196
Correo electrónico: eson-spain@eso.org
Acerca de la nota de prensa
| Nota de prensa No.: | eso0907-es |
| Legacy ID: | PR 07/09 |
| Nombre: | Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 |
| Tipo: | Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary |
| Facility: | MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope |
| Instruments: | WFI |
Imágenes
Videos
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