File:Nova Shell Around Z Camelopardalis.jpg
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Summary
[edit]DescriptionNova Shell Around Z Camelopardalis.jpg |
English: The larger image, a composite from the near-ultraviolet and far-ultraviolet detectors on NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, shows the Z Camelopardalis (Z Cam) stellar system and a massive shell around it. The inset image contains data from the observatory's far- ultraviolet detector, and has been processed to eliminate most of the foreground and background stars and galaxies, while enhancing Z Cam and the shell.
In the composite image, Z Cam is the largest white object in the image, located near the center. Parts of the shell are seen as a lobe-like, wispy, yellowish feature below and to the right of Z Cam, and as two large, whitish, perpendicular lines on the left. The bluish streak in the bottom right corner is reflected dust that may or may not be related to Z Cam. Numerous foreground and background stars and galaxies are visible as yellow and white spots. The yellow objects have predominantly near-ultraviolet emissions, while the white objects are close to a nearly equal mix of near-ultraviolet and far-ultraviolet emissions. In the inset image, Z Cam is the large white object located near the center. Parts of the shell appear as a lobe-like, light-blue feature below and to the right of Z Cam, and as two large, light-blue, perpendicular lines on the left. Most of the background galaxies and stars have been eliminated by the processing of the image, although a few linger as white spots near the top, as does the light-blue streaky clump of reflected dust in the bottom right corner. Z Cam is a binary, or double-star, system. It has a collapsed, dead star, or white dwarf, and a companion star, as well as a ghostly shell surrounding the system. The massive shell provides evidence of material ejected during and swept up by a powerful classical nova eruption, which likely occurred a few thousand years ago. There are two classes of exploding binary star systems, or cataclysmic variables: recurrent dwarf novae, which erupt in smaller, "hiccup-like" blasts, and classical novae, which undergo a huge explosion thousands of times more powerful than dwarf novae. Z Cam was one of the first known recurrent dwarf novae. Yet the shell of ionized gas around Z Cam detected by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer can only be explained as the remnant of a full-blown classical nova explosion. The discovery of the shell provides the first evidence that some binary systems undergo both types of explosions. Previously, a link between the two types of novae had been predicted, but there was no evidence to support the theory. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer first began imaging Z Cam in 2003; this image was taken on Jan. 25, 2004. The type of emission found around Z Cam is most visible in far- ultraviolet wavelengths. |
Date | |
Source | http://www.galex.caltech.edu/media/glx2007-01r_img01.html |
Author | NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Seibert(OCIW)/T. Pyle(SSC)/R. Hurt(SSC) |
Licensing
[edit]Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
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current | 15:40, 30 June 2011 | 2,400 × 3,000 (4.58 MB) | Spitzersteph (talk | contribs) |
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Width | 2,400 px |
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Height | 3,000 px |
Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 300 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 300 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 18:02, 3 March 2008 |
Color space | Uncalibrated |