{"id":57843,"date":"2024-04-25T12:38:44","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T12:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/8e435821-737e-4ae0-a60b-b7da0b3c3ba8"},"modified":"2024-04-25T14:08:27","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T14:08:27","slug":"a-vision-of-the-fate-that-awaits-our-sun-the-helix-or-eye-of-god-nebula-is-both-beautiful-and-terrifying","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/a-vision-of-the-fate-that-awaits-our-sun-the-helix-or-eye-of-god-nebula-is-both-beautiful-and-terrifying\/","title":{"rendered":"A vision of the fate that awaits our Sun, the Helix or ‘Eye Of God’ Nebula is both beautiful and terrifying"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Helix Nebula offers a glimpse into the fate of our own Solar System in 5 billion years’ time. <\/p>

By Iain Todd\n <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 25 April 2024 at 12:38 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The Helix Nebula, sometimes referred to as the ‘Eye Of God Nebula’, is an object known as a planetary nebula located 650 lightyears away and seen in the constellation Aquarius.<\/p>

Catalogued as NGC 7293, this amazing object is one of the most striking nebulae that can be seen, and has unsurprisingly been captured by amateur astrophotographers and professional observatories alike.<\/p>

The Helix Nebula, by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Credit: X-ray: NASA\/CXC; Optical: NASA\/STScI.<\/figcaption><\/figure>

What is a planetary nebula?<\/strong><\/h2>

A planetary nebula<\/a> doesn’t have anything to do with planets. Rather, it is a dying star that’s running out of fuel, ejecting its outer layers into space and producing a large, puffed-out structure.<\/p>

Often planetary nebulae have a distinctly spherical shape and look rather like planetary bodies: hence their name.<\/p>

So planetary nebulae like the Helix Nebula may be a glimpse into the future, as the same thing will happen to our own Sun when it begins to run out of fuel and expands outwards.<\/p>

\"The
The Helix Nebula captured by ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Credit: ESO\/VISTA\/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure>

What the Helix Nebula looks like<\/strong><\/h2>

The Helix Nebula is a thinly-spread nebula<\/a>, it has to be said, as background stars can easily be seen through the cosmic cloud.<\/p>

It is ethereally translucent, and also looks rather like an eye, leading to its popular nickname ‘Eye Of God’.<\/p>

‘Bicycle spoke’ features are a common trait of the Helix Nebula in images, as cosmic gas and dust is ejected outwards from the central star, which at 120,000\u00b0C is scorchingly hot.<\/p>

The nebula’s star is a white dwarf<\/a>, which is a kind of stellar remnant that’s left over once a star has run out of fuel and ejected its outer layers into space.<\/p>

And as for any planets that were in orbit around the star? The expansion of the Helix Nebula means they would have been knocked out of their orbits, swallowed up or incinerated.<\/p>

Such is the fate that awaits our own Solar System in about 5 billion years.<\/p>

You can find out more about this in our guides What will happen to our Solar System in the future?<\/a> and What will happen when our Sun dies?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>

\"Planetary
Hubble Space Telescope image of the Helix Nebula. Credit: NASA, NOAO, ESA, Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M Meixner and T A Rector – NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Look familiar?<\/strong><\/h2>

Fans of the popular US comedy The Big Bang Theory may think that the Helix Nebula looks familiar.<\/p>

A poster of the nebula can be seen in the background of Sheldon and Leonard’s apartment throughout the series.<\/p>

The poster on their wall is of the famous Hubble Space Telescope image.<\/p>

How to locate the Helix Nebula<\/strong><\/h2>
\"Chart
Chart showing the constellation Aquarius, with the location of the Helix Nebula (NGC 7293) labelled. Click to expand. Credit: BBC Sky at Night Magazine<\/figcaption><\/figure>

You can find the Helix Nebula just below the main star pattern of the constellation Aquarius.<\/p>

Locate two of its brightest stars, Sadalmelik and Ancha, then draw an imaginary line between the two.<\/p>

Extend that line beyond Ancha for just shy of twice that distance again, and you’ll come to NGC 7293, the Helix Nebula.<\/p>

You can use the star chart above to help you locate it.<\/p>

Images<\/strong><\/h2>
\"The
The Helix Nebula captured by ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA). Credit: ESO\/VISTA\/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
The Helix Nebula, by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope and Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Credit: X-ray: NASA\/CXC; Optical: NASA\/STScI.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
The Helix Nebula captured using the First Light Optics Remote Observatory. 40 hours\u2019 worth of 20-minute exposures. Credit: Tim Jardine<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"NGC
NGC 7293, the Helix NebulaDrew Evans, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA, 26-27 September and 4-8 October 2023Equipment: ZWO ASI2600MM Pro mono CMOS camera, SharpStar SCA260 aspherical Cassegrain astrograph, iOptron CEM120 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"NGC
NGC 7293, the Helix NebulaDaniel Stern, Rio Hurtade, Chile, 5, 7, 13, 14 and 15 June 2023Equipment: Moravian C4-1600 CMOS camera, PlaneWave CDK17 f\/6.8 astrograph, PlaneWave L-500 mount <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
The Helix NebulaPrabhu, Mleiha, UAE, 28 November and 8 December 2021Equipment: ZWO ASI294MM Pro camera, GSO 8-inch Ritchey\u2013Chr\u00e9tien, Sky-Watcher EQ6 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"The
The Helix Nebula Mainak Chakraborty, Kolkata, India, 2 October 2021Equipment: QHYCCD QHY294C Pro camera, William Optics Redcat 51 apo refractor, iOptron Sky Guider Pro mount <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"NGC
NGC 7293, The Helix Nebula Davide Mancini, Perth, Australia, 8 November 2020. Equipment: ZWO ASI 2600MC colour camera, SharpStar 150 f\/2.8 astrograph, Sky-Watcher HEQ5 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"10
The Helix NebulaKfir Simon, Israel, June and July 2019Equipment: FLI ProLine 16803 CCD camera<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Planetary
NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"Deep
Deep in the Heart of Mordor \u2013 NGC 7293, Andrew Campbell, Melbourne, Australia, 27 November 2018. Equipment: GSO RC8CF 200 mm Ritchey-Chretien, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, QSI 683 WSG 8 camera.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"NGC7293
NGC7293 Helix Nebula (bi-colour) by Chris Heapy, Macclesfield, UK. Equipment: Televue NP127is refractor, Atik490EX, 10-Micron GM2000HPS-II, Astrodon 3nM H-alpha and OIII<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>
\"NGC
NGC 7293 Helix Nebula by David Trotter, Australia. Equipment: STL6303e CCD, GSO RC8 Telescope, AP900 mount<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div><\/div>