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Hubble image of the so-called 'Rotten Egg' nebula -- actually, the death throes of star OH231.8+4.2 as it turns from a normal red giant star into a planetary nebula.

Hubble telescope spies 'Rotten Egg' nebula

October 19, 1999
Web posted at: 12:12 p.m. EDT (1612 GMT)

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 on Tuesday.

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Star gazing

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 sulphur compounds in the gas surrounding the star -- and sulphur compounds are what make rotten eggs stink.

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Hubble Heritage Project
Space Telescope Science Institute
The Next Generation Space Telescope

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