IC 418 ：望遠鏡星雲
IC 418: The Spirograph Nebula
發表日期：2025-04-27
是什麼造就了 IC 418 的奇特紋理？ 行星狀星雲IC 418 被稱為 "Spirograph 星雲"，因為它與一種迴圈繪畫工具的圖畫十分相似。也許它們與來自中央變星的混亂風有關，中央變星的亮度在短短几個小時內就會發生不可預知的變化。 相比之下，有證據表明，僅在幾百萬年前，IC 418 很可能是一顆與我們的太陽類似的被人們所熟知的恆星。 就在幾千年前，IC 418 可能還是一顆普通的紅巨星。 不過，自從核燃料耗盡後，外層包膜開始向外膨脹，留下了一個炙熱的殘餘核心，註定要成為一顆白矮星，在影像中心可見。來自中央核心的光激發了星雲中周圍的原子，使它們發光。IC 418 位於大約 2000 光年之外，直徑為 0 . 3 光年。 這張由哈勃太空望遠鏡拍攝的假彩色圖片揭示了這一不同尋常的細節。
原文：What is creating the strange texture of IC 418? Dubbed the Spirograph Nebula for its resemblance to drawings from a cyclical drawing tool, planetary nebula IC 418 shows patterns that are not well understood. Perhaps they are related to chaotic winds from the variable central star, which changes brightness unpredictably in just a few hours. By contrast, evidence indicates that only a few million years ago, IC 418 was probably a well-understood star similar to our Sun. Only a few thousand years ago, IC 418 was probably a common red giant star. Since running out of nuclear fuel, though, the outer envelope has begun expanding outward leaving a hot remnant core destined to become a white-dwarf star, visible in the image center. The light from the central core excites surrounding atoms in the nebula causing them to glow. IC 418 lies about 2000 light-years away and spans 0.3 light-years across. This false-color image taken from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the unusual details.
※ 本文由萌芽機器人自動轉貼自每日一天文圖（Astronomy Picture of the Day，APOD），原文為英文，正體中文是透過 DeepL 翻譯及 OpenCC 進行自動處理，內容僅供參考，若有任何錯誤之處還請見諒！
關於每日一天文圖：每日一天文圖網站是美國國家航空暨太空總署與密西根理工大學提供的服務，網站每天提供一張影像或圖片，並由天文學家撰寫扼要說明其特別之處。