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The Flame Nebula. Image from the VISTA telescope. Credit: ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA.
Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
  
 

VISTA's First Light
Jul 01, 2010

A new telescope designed to see objects in visible and infrared light has just come online.

The Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) began operations a day after its December 11, 2009 dedication ceremony. NGC 2024, otherwise known as the Flame Nebula, was among those objects recorded during its first light.

The Flame Nebula is located in the constellation of Orion, just below the three visible stars that make up its belt. Of the three stars that comprise Orion's sword, one of them is actually the Orion Nebula, a celestial object that has been the subject of past Picture of the Day articles. Both the Flame and Orion nebulae are part of the Orion Molecular Cloud complex that also includes the Horsehead Nebula, the Barnard-30 star-forming region, M43, and M78.

Normally, the Flame Nebula is obscured by an opaque cloud of dust. However, VISTA's supercooled infrared detection apparatus (frozen at - 200º C) can "see through" the cloud, because it is sensitive to the infrared light being emitted by warmer gases and dust behind the dark veil. High resolution images confirm that the nebula is similar in structure to others that have been identified in these pages as electrically active phenomena.

What is a nebula?

Consensus opinions state that a star in the latter stages of its evolution will experience violent upheavals as its supply of hydrogen fuel diminishes and the "ash" of heavier elements accumulates in its core. Before the star reaches its final white dwarf stage, it is thought that the disequilibrium induced by the fusion of those heavier nuclei causes the dying star to eject vast quantities of matter—effectively "sloughing off" its outer layers. It is this expanding cloud of dust and gas, illuminated by the senescent star at its center, that astronomers detect.

The name "planetary nebula" was assigned to the glowing formations early in the days of telescopic observation. They appeared to be round, with a faint greenish tinge, looking similar to Uranus, so it was assumed that they might also be gas giant planets.

Planetary nebulae come in all shapes and sizes: round, elliptical, interlocking rings, or nested cylinders. They often exhibit long tendrils, symmetrical hourglass shapes, and bubbles within their structures. According to conventional theories, those features are the result of shock waves, or stellar winds blowing off the parent star, crashing into the slower material ahead of them.

In the case of the Flame Nebula, the unmistakeable appearance of twisting Birkeland current filaments is clearly visible bisecting the center of the image. The overall configuration is an hourglass, not a sphere, and the shapes within the nebula correspond to the filaments, helices, and pillars that electrical discharge in plasmas create.

In the laboratory, plasma forms cells separated by thin walls of opposite charge called double layers. Could separation of charges also take place in nebulae? That question might require centuries to answer, since the only way to detect a double layer in space is by flying a probe through one. However, everywhere in our own Solar System cellular structures separated by double layers abound: the Sun's heliosphere, comet tails, and magnetospheres are all examples of charge separation in plasma.

Although no definitive answers are yet forthcoming, Electric Universe advocates assume that plasma will behave in the same way whether in the laboratory, or in a formation like the Flame Nebula. Electric double layers resulting from charge separation in space prompted Nobel laureate Hannes Alfvén to suggest that they be considered their own class of celestial object. If that were so, the mysteries that confound astronomy today would become substantially less quixotic.

Stephen Smith

 


 

 
 

"The Cosmic Thunderbolt"

YouTube video, first glimpses of Episode Two in the "Symbols of an Alien Sky" series.
 

 

And don't forget: "The Universe Electric"

Three ebooks in the Universe Electric series are now available. Consistently praised for easily understandable text and exquisite graphics.
 
 
 
 
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