- GALAXIES
- INFRARED WORLD
- INTERACTING GALAXIES
- MILKY WAY
- STAR BIRTH
- STAR DEATH
- GALAXIES
- INFRARED WORLD
- INTERACTING GALAXIES
- MILKY WAY
- STAR BIRTH
- STAR DEATH
Star Death
Helix Nebula
![As each slider bar is manipulated, the view transitions from visible light to near infrared light to mid infrared light. In visible light: Hot gas ejected from a dying star glows. In near infrared light: Near-infrared light reveals cooler material. In mid infrared light: Warm dust is identified in mid-infrared light.](/assets/sliders/star_death/helix_nebula/esahubble_heic0307a_3000-Vis-2b0f61115bdd46ab83fd483fd5b3d0f53cc044a3652af02382d3f1f2b511906b.jpg)
![As each slider bar is manipulated, the view transitions from visible light to near infrared light to mid infrared light. In visible light: Hot gas ejected from a dying star glows. In near infrared light: Near-infrared light reveals cooler material. In mid infrared light: Warm dust is identified in mid-infrared light.](/assets/sliders/star_death/helix_nebula/eso_eso1205a_3000-nearIR-94fbfa38e946c21e31b43a54845d94ea8d6f6bce21bbd5b8652bb8d023077c98.jpg)
![As each slider bar is manipulated, the view transitions from visible light to near infrared light to mid infrared light. In visible light: Hot gas ejected from a dying star glows. In near infrared light: Near-infrared light reveals cooler material. In mid infrared light: Warm dust is identified in mid-infrared light.](/assets/sliders/star_death/helix_nebula/spitzer_sig07-016_3000-IR-b0f4df1cba2add9e699fb240cd0adad7f83c14db42b5c58e4402c9ade73ae884.jpg)
Visible:
Default View
Near Infrared:
LESS
MORE
Mid Infrared:
LESS
MORE
Helix Nebula
Stars like our Sun end their lives by casting off their outer layers, briefly forming a spectacular "planetary nebula" like the Helix Nebula. In visible light, we see the glow of hot gases illuminated by a hot, compact core, known as a "white dwarf." Shifting into the near-infrared reveals the glow of more complex molecules formed in the outer shell. The mid-infrared glow highlights the warm (bright red) dust surrounding the white dwarf.
Visible:
Hot gas ejected from a dying star glows.
Near Infrared:
Near-infrared light reveals cooler material.
Mid Infrared:
Warm dust is identified in mid-infrared light.
CREDITS:
Visible: NASA, NOAO, ESA, the Hubble Helix Nebula Team, M. Meixner (STScI), and T.A. Rector (NRAO). Near-infrared: ESO/VISTA/J. Emerson. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit. Mid-infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Su (Univ. of Arizona).