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Hubble Telescope Spies 'Rotten Egg' Nebula
01:19 a.m. Oct 20, 1999 Eastern
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a picture
of a splotch in space dubbed the ``Rotten Egg'' that could give astronomers
clues about the future of our Sun, scientists said Tuesday.
The Rotten Egg, which looks more like a giant squid swimming than an
egg, actually is the death throes of star OH231.8+4.2 as it turns from
a normal red giant star into a planetary nebula, the scientists from NASA
and the European Space Agency said in a statement.
Astronomers believe most Sun-like stars eventually go through this transformation,
but because it usually happens so quickly, it is rare to capture this kind
of image, the scientists said.
The star is buried at the heart of the image, with gas and dust shooting
out from two opposite directions at high speed. Hubble's infrared camera
was able to ``look'' at the dying star through the gas and dust, the scientists
said.
By studying these images, scientists may be able to determine what the
end might be like for stars like the Sun.
But if it's a dying star, why did they call it a Rotten Egg? Because
they detected lots of sulfur compounds in the gas surrounding the star
-- and sulfur compounds are what make rotten eggs stink.
Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication and
redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior
written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors
or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
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