Kohoutek 3-46 is a planetary nebula recorded by the Geminin North telescope. (Image credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/ AURA. Image processing: J. Miller (International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab) & & M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab))
What it is: Kohoutek 3-46, a planetary nebula.
Where it is: 7,200 light-years remote in the constellation Cygnus.
When it was shared: July 24, 2024.
Why it’s so unique:
Death comes strongly for huge stars. As they burn through their fuel and start to cool, pressure drops and gravity takes control. A core collapse can follow, triggering an intense supernova surge.
That’s not how all stars end their lives. When a smaller sized star about one to 8 times the size of the sun tires its fuel, it broadens into a cool red giant star. Ultimately, it expels its external layers of environment. Those layers can radiance for countless years in gorgeous colors and shapes, brightened by light from the star’s remaining core, likewise called a white dwarf.
Related: Space image of the week: Ring Nebula glows like a jelly-filled doughnut in Webb telescope’s most current images
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That’s what’s occurring at Kohoutek 3-46, whose shape looks like a butterfly. It’s approximated to be about 20,000 light-years old and is an uncommon example of what astronomers call a planetary nebula. The term is misinforming due to the fact that Kohoutek 3-46 has absolutely nothing to do with worlds. The name, created by astronomer William Herschel in the 1700s, explains the rough shape of the item (most are circular) when seen through a little telescope.
Kohoutek 3-46, nevertheless, isn’t round however a bipolar hourglass shape, which represents just about 10 to 20% of planetary nebulas. It was found in 1964 by astronomer Luboš Kohoutek, who found 300 planetary nebulas throughout his profession.
This image was caught by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii, one half of the Gemini Observatory (the other is Gemini South in Chile’s Atacama Desert). The Gemini North telescope is supported in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and run by NSF NOIRLab.
Kohoutek 3-46 is presently riding high in the Northern Hemisphere’s post-sunset night sky. Its constellation, Cygnus, belongs to the popular “Summer Triangle” shape of stars (here’s how to discover it in the sky tonight). Nearby is the constellation Lyra, which hosts the well-known Ring Nebula (likewise called M57), a planetary nebula with a more normal shape.
Jamie Carter is an independent reporter and routine Live Science factor based in Cardiff, U.K. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and lectures on astronomy and the natural world. Jamie frequently composes for Space.com, TechRadar.com, Forbes Science, BBC Wildlife publication and Scientific American, and lots of others. He modifies WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.
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