In the universe, small-mass stars like the Sun do not erupt into supernovae when they evolve to the end of their lives, but expand into red giants and constantly eject material outwards, eventually collapsing into a white dwarf. Interestingly, these projected materials tend to form a variety of beautiful planetary nebulae under the action of stellar winds.
A wide variety of planetary nebulae
This article is about one of the most characteristic planetary nebulae, the Butterfly Nebula M2-9. Located about 2,100 light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ophiuchus, the nebula was first discovered in 1947 by astronomer Rudolf Minkovsky (nephew of the famous mathematician Hermann Minkowski). Hubble took a picture of the M2-9 after it took off in the 1990s, and it was strangely shaped like a super butterfly flying in space.
Hubble shoots the M2-9
In fact, this butterfly is the product of a star's demise. At the center of M2-9 exists a binary system in which one star is nearing the end of its life and is collapsing into a white dwarf after evolving into a red giant that ejects most of the material outward. Another smaller star orbits it at a very close distance. These ejected materials form a gas disk.
Stars throw material to form a gas disk
Scientists believe that polar jets are produced under the interaction of two stars, causing this gas disk to form a bipolar structure. Subsequently, the structure was blown louder and louder by the stellar wind, eventually outlining the super butterfly in space. However, the specific details of this process are still unclear to scientists. Through continuous observations of M2-9, we can see that this nebula is in a dynamic process.
Changes in M2-9 between 1989 and 2007
I have to lament the wonder of the universe, which can interpret death into a wonderful art.
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