Skip to main content

The Medusa Nebula • 03/25/22

Posted by Specola Profile 03/25/22 at 12:16PM Science - Tech - Astronomy See more by Specola

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

Braided and serpentine filaments of glowing gas suggest this nebula's popular name, The Medusa Nebula. Also known as Abell 21, this Medusa is an old planetary nebula some 1,500 light-years away in the constellation Gemini. Like its mythological namesake, the nebula is associated with a dramatic transformation. The planetary nebula phase represents a final stage in the evolution of low mass stars like the sun as they transform themselves from red giants to hot white dwarf stars and in the process shrug off their outer layers. Ultraviolet radiation from the hot star powers the nebular glow. The Medusa's transforming star is the faint one near the center of the overall bright crescent shape. In this deep telescopic view, fainter filaments clearly extend above and left of the bright crescent region. The Medusa Nebula is estimated to be over 4 light-years across.

Photo by Damien Cannane

Read more from Pepe's Painting LLC

Snohomish, Skagit and Island County

Giving Kids in Need the Chance to Read
  Non-profit organization - Seattle, WA

Powered by Volunteers | 360-794-7959

Click the Image to learn more about us

Hunger impacts all of us | 360-435-1631