One of the most famous nebulae in the universe is changing rapidly: scientists don’t know why

Astronomers have seen how the “wings” of the Butterfly Nebula begin to change shape rapidly.

The NGC 6302 nebula, better known as the Butterfly Nebula, is rapidly changing its appearance. Observations show that there have been major changes in the “wings” of the cosmic butterfly over the past 11 years, and scientists do not understand why this is happening, writes Inverse.

“I’ve been comparing Hubble images of this nebula for years, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Bruce Fish, professor of astronomy at the University of Washington.

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Planetary nebulae are known to form due to the expanding gas shell of aging stars – red giants. Most of these nebulae take the form of a giant ring, but some become wing-like, as in the Butterfly Nebula.

Astronomers believe the winged or inverted hourglass shape is due to the gravitational pull of a second star orbiting the nebula’s main star. Although the “wings” of such nebulae grow over time, their original shape usually does not change.

Pisces and Aarhus University PhD student Lars Borchert compared two Hubble images of the Butterfly Nebula from 2009 and 2020. The pictures showed drastic changes in the material that made up the “wings”. This shouldn’t have happened because the red giant star creating the “wings” effect is a dying star that has long run out of fuel.

In the outer parts of the nebula, the team of scientists saw material moving quite fast – 500 km per second. At the same time, material near the nebula’s central star expands much more slowly. So the jets collide with each other, creating random patterns within the “wings”.

According to the study’s author, this effect is difficult to explain using existing theories. The nebula’s central star, hidden behind clouds and dust, may have merged with its companion star or stolen material from its nearest star. This event spin can create complex magnetic fields.

“But at the moment that’s just a hypothesis. What happened in the Butterfly Nebula shows us that we don’t fully understand the formation of planetary nebulae. Next, we want to use James Webb to get a picture of the center of the nebula. A telescope that can reveal the secret,” emphasizes Pisces.

Scientists state that somewhere in 5 billion years our Sun will turn into a red giant and also form a planetary nebula. Carbon and other heavy elements will be thrown into the interstellar medium, where new planets will form in the future.

“This is a story of creation that repeats itself over and over in the Universe. The processes of formation provide important insight into the influence of stellar activity on the appearance of stellar systems,” concluded the scientist.

Source: Focus

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