+ Space | Eye Of God

NGC 7293 Helix Nebular

Another email received today from a friend of cosmic photo is simply beautiful. I cannot resist but to save it in my blog.

I have always been fasinated by the stars above me. I could clearly see them in my childhood days in the Kampong or village called Lorong Ternak.

There was very little light to obscure a good view from the area, as it was within a coconut and rubber plantation.

Yes, beautiful from afar, 650 light years away to be exact. But from a devastation caused by an exploding star like our sun. The end of life star ramnents created is simply spectacular and looks so much like a caucasion's eye.

They termed it as "Eye Of God". I would term it as "Act of God" instead. Beautiful almost dreamy like.

A simple search on the internet returned with so many results featuring this fanstastic photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope composite with the terrestrial space obsevatory Mosaic Camera on the WIYN 0.9m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in the US.

I guess every body has been talking about it some time ago but only came to my attention today. Better late than never.

The photo is of the Helix Nebula with the technical designation as NGC 7293 with a span of 2.5 light years wide.

The gasses of the star expelled into space appear as if we are looking down on Helix.

The remnant central stellar core was said to be destined to become a white dwarf star, glows in light so powerful that it causes the previous expelled gas to luminate or fluoresce.

Wonder would I have been an astronomer or at least an astronomy student or enthusiast if I had lived in the US where it is condusive to have opportunities for such interests and studies with such facilities?

Guess the answer is in the stars.