CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A telescope in Chile has captured a stunning new picture of a grand and graceful cosmic butterfly.
The National Science Foundation’s NoirLab released the picture Wednesday.
Snapped last month by the Gemini South telescope, the aptly named Butterfly Nebula is 2,500 to 3,800 light-years away in the constellation Scorpius. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles.
At the heart of this bipolar nebula is a white dwarf star that cast aside its outer layers of gas long ago. The discarded gas forms the butterflylike wings billowing from the aging star, whose heat causes the gas to glow.
Schoolchildren in Chile chose this astronomical target to celebrate 25 years of operation by the International Gemini Observatory.
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
latest_posts
- 1
Surprising links between autism, Alzheimer’s could change how we treat both - 2Single women risk rape and exploitation in search for better life in Europe
- 3Amid growing bipartisan scrutiny of Pete Hegseth, Trump says he 'wouldn't have wanted … a second strike' on alleged Venezuelan drug boat survivors
- 4Mexico says a third of 130,000 missing people might be alive, fueling criticism from families
- 5One lightly wounded after Iranian missile barrage targets northern Israel
- Ukraine confirms defence and energy ministers at second attempt
- Slims down for Maintainable Weight reduction
- 6 Well known Nissan Vehicles in the U.S.
- The 15 Most Compelling Books in History
- Artemis 2 astronauts see Earth in the rear-view mirror | Space photo of the day for April 3, 2026
- Our 10 favorite Space.com reader astronomy photos of 2025
- Self-sacrificing ants highlight the unity of their colony, say researchers
- New electric car registrations rise sharply in Germany in March
- Iranian president warns of retaliation against Gulf states
