GLOSSARY
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Planetary nebula seen through ESO telescope
NGC 5189, a chaotic-looking planetary nebula that lies about 550 parsecs away in the southern hemisphere constellation Musca, is a parallelogram-shaped cloud of glowing gas. The GMOS image of this nebula shows long streamers of gas, glowing dust clouds, and cometary knots pointing away from the central star. Its unruly appearance suggests some extraordinary action at the heart of this planetary nebula.
Discovered by John Herschel in 1835, it apparently has an ‘S’ shape when seen through the telescope, and is reminiscent of a barred spiral galaxy. Estimated to be at a distance of 3,000 light years from the earth, this spiral planetary nebula has an oriental twist and is similar in appearance to a Chinese dragon. These cosmic fireworks form the last swansong of a dying star which is seen to release gas that forms an inner ring in the nebula.
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