Posted on Jul 21, 2021
APOD: 2021 July 21 - Colors: Ring Nebula versus Stars
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Good morning, Rallypoint. Today's Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is titled "Colors: Ring Nebula versus Stars." A diffraction grating is an optical component that splits and diffracts visible light into several beams travelling in different directions. If you've seen a rainbow, you've seen a diffraction grating. Today's APOD takes that principle and applies it to the Ring Nebula (M57) and its surrounding stars in the constellation Lyra.
The parent star of the Ring Nebula is a star in the last stages of its evolution, where it has expelled a luminous envelope of ionized gas into its surrounding region. This gas cloud is referred to as a planetary nebula. Through the diffraction grating we see that the presence of hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue) is indicated, and just to the right of center is the combined visible light as seen from an unfiltered source.
But why is the Ring Nebula surrounded by a bunch of streaks? M57 is only 2,000 light years away from Earth. The stars surrounding the Ring Nebula are much further away. Thus, there is some distance between the colors of M57, while the stars appear as separate streaks. But if you look, you can see differences between each of them. For example, some have very prominent red segments while others have none. This data can suggest the presence (or lack of) certain elements, or the motion of the object relative to the viewer (either towards or away from you). The amount of redshift (towards the left of each streak) can also indicate how far away the object is from the viewer.
As you can see, a basic knowledge of light and wave mechanics occasionally comes in handy. And some people say Space is boring.
The parent star of the Ring Nebula is a star in the last stages of its evolution, where it has expelled a luminous envelope of ionized gas into its surrounding region. This gas cloud is referred to as a planetary nebula. Through the diffraction grating we see that the presence of hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue) is indicated, and just to the right of center is the combined visible light as seen from an unfiltered source.
But why is the Ring Nebula surrounded by a bunch of streaks? M57 is only 2,000 light years away from Earth. The stars surrounding the Ring Nebula are much further away. Thus, there is some distance between the colors of M57, while the stars appear as separate streaks. But if you look, you can see differences between each of them. For example, some have very prominent red segments while others have none. This data can suggest the presence (or lack of) certain elements, or the motion of the object relative to the viewer (either towards or away from you). The amount of redshift (towards the left of each streak) can also indicate how far away the object is from the viewer.
As you can see, a basic knowledge of light and wave mechanics occasionally comes in handy. And some people say Space is boring.
APOD: 2021 July 21 - Colors: Ring Nebula versus Stars
Posted from apod.nasa.gov
NASA
Space
Science
Photography
Astronomy
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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Looks like a game of space frisbee golf Maj William W. 'Bill' Price , have a great Wednesday sir.
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Belated thank you my friend Maj William W. 'Bill' Price for posting the NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) for Wednesday, July 21, 2021 entitled "Colors: Ring Nebula versus Stars."
Image: Colors - Ring Nebula versus Stars - Image Credit - Robert Vanderbei (Princeton U.)
APOD Background
"Explanation: What if you could see, separately, all the colors of the Ring? And of the surrounding stars? There's technology for that. The featured image shows the Ring Nebula (M57) and nearby stars through such technology: in this case, a prism-like diffraction grating. The Ring Nebula is seen only a few times because it emits light, primarily, in only a few colors. The two brightest emitted colors are hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue), appearing as nearly overlapping images to the left of the image center. The image just to the right of center is the color-combined icon normally seen. Stars, on the other hand, emit most of their light in colors all across the visible spectrum. These colors, combined, make a nearly continuous streak -- which is why stars appear accompanied by multicolored bars. Breaking object light up into colors is scientifically useful because it can reveal the elements that compose that object, how fast that object is moving, and how distant that object is."
Cyndi Lauper - True Colors (Official HD Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPn0KFlbqX8
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs SMSgt Lawrence McCarter LTC (Join to see) MAJ Dale E. Wilson, Ph.D. Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Sgt Albert Castro PO1 William "Chip" Nagel SSG Samuel Kermon SSG Franklin Briant A1C Riley SandersGySgt Thomas Vick CPL Douglas Chrysler SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL Lt Col John (Jack) Christensen GySgt Jack Wallace 1SG Steven Imerman MSgt James Clark-Rosa SGT Charlie Lee Maj Marty Hogan
Image: Colors - Ring Nebula versus Stars - Image Credit - Robert Vanderbei (Princeton U.)
APOD Background
"Explanation: What if you could see, separately, all the colors of the Ring? And of the surrounding stars? There's technology for that. The featured image shows the Ring Nebula (M57) and nearby stars through such technology: in this case, a prism-like diffraction grating. The Ring Nebula is seen only a few times because it emits light, primarily, in only a few colors. The two brightest emitted colors are hydrogen (red) and oxygen (blue), appearing as nearly overlapping images to the left of the image center. The image just to the right of center is the color-combined icon normally seen. Stars, on the other hand, emit most of their light in colors all across the visible spectrum. These colors, combined, make a nearly continuous streak -- which is why stars appear accompanied by multicolored bars. Breaking object light up into colors is scientifically useful because it can reveal the elements that compose that object, how fast that object is moving, and how distant that object is."
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPn0KFlbqX8
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Good morning and what an excellent APOD for today, Maj William W. 'Bill' Price! As i looked at the image, I could only think of one thing that stared me in the face is the fact that there is Hydrogen (Red color) and Oxygen (Blue color), which are the components of water, H2O... and as we know, water is the one molecule we, as humans, need to survive...as does all aquatic, animal and plant based life as we know it... In my view, this makes this APOD rather special... Thank you, Bill!
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