Table of Contents
Is Polaris a nebula?
The Polaris Nebula is a very faint section of nebulosity in the apparent direction of Polaris, the North Star. These type of nebulae lie in the outer regions of our galaxy and consist of fine dust particles illuminated by reflecting light from the entire Milky Way Galaxy.
What kind of star is Polaris?
supergiant star
According to the star aficionado Jim Kaler, Polaris is a yellow supergiant star shining with the luminosity of 2500 suns. Polaris is also the closest and brightest Cepheid variable star – a type of star that astronomers use to figure distances to star clusters and galaxies.
What is the closest planetary nebula?
The Helix Nebula
The Helix Nebula (also known as NGC 7293), at distance of around 700 light years, is the closest planetary nebula to the Earth.
What nebula is Polaris in?
Integrate Flus Nebula
The central star is Polaris, the North Star. The nebula is an example of the Integrate Flus Nebula. These types of nebulae lie in the outer region of the Milky Way and consist of dust particles that reflect light from the Milky Way Galaxy.
Does Polaris have any planets?
“This system is known to contain two other stars in addition to the Cepheid stars, but there may be yet another unseen object orbiting Polaris a massive orbiting planet for example,” he added. “There definitely remain a few oddities to keep Polaris an object of study for many years to come.”
Where are planetary nebulae found?
About 3000 planetary nebulae are now known to exist in our galaxy, out of 200 billion stars. Their very short lifetime compared to total stellar lifetime accounts for their rarity. They are found mostly near the plane of the Milky Way, with the greatest concentration near the galactic center.
What degree is Polaris?
(30 degrees latitude)– Polaris is located 30 degrees above the northern horizon. This trend continues until the traveler reaches the geographic (not magnetic) North Pole. At this point (90 degrees latitude), Polaris is 90 degrees above the northern horizon and appears directly overhead.
How are planetary nebulae related to stellar evolution?
Planetary nebulae are understood as a final stage of stellar evolution. Spectroscopic observations show that all planetary nebulae are expanding. This led to the idea that planetary nebulae were caused by a star’s outer layers being thrown into space at the end of its life.
How big does a star have to be to have a planetary nebula?
Stars greater than 8 solar masses (M ⊙) will likely end their lives in dramatic supernovae explosions, while planetary nebulae seemingly only occur at the end of the lives of intermediate and low mass stars between 0.8 M ⊙ to 8.0 M ⊙.
What is the nucleus of a planetary nebula called?
Once all of the red giant’s atmosphere has been dissipated, energetic ultraviolet radiation from the exposed hot luminous core, called a planetary nebula nucleus (PNN), ionizes the ejected material.
Who was the first person to discover the planetary nebula?
To early observers with low-resolution telescopes, M27 and subsequently discovered planetary nebulae resembled the giant planets like Uranus. William Herschel, discoverer of Uranus, perhaps coined the term “planetary nebula”.