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NGC 7027:
X-ray View of a Young Planetary Nebula
Chandra's image of NGC 7027
represents the first detection of X-rays from this
young planetary nebula that is about 3,000 light years
from Earth. A bubble of 3 million degree Celsius
gas with a length about a hundred times that of our
solar system is shown in the image. The image is
brighter to the upper right – the side of the
nebula nearest the Earth – where there is less
obscuring material to block the X-ray emission.
NGC 7027 is the remains of a Sun-like star that has
ejected much of its mass to expose its hot core. The
X-rays are thought to be produced when a "fast" wind
from the hot core collides with the "slow" wind that
was ejected earlier during the star's red giant phase.
This collision heats the matter to several million
degrees so that it glows in X-rays.
Chandra data suggest that there is an overabundance of
helium, carbon, nitrogen, magnesium, and silicon
present in NGC 7027. This is consistent with theories
that predict that planetary nebulas seed interstellar
space with "heavy" elements (that is, any element
heavier than hydrogen and helium) produced by nuclear
reactions during the evolution of the star.
These observations were made by a team of scientists
led by Joel Kastner of the Rochester Institute of
Technology.
| Fast Facts for NGC 7027: |
| Credit |
NASA/RIT/J.Kastner et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 22 arcsec on a side. |
| Category |
White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulas |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 21h 07m 01.60s | Dec +42° 14' 09.70" |
| Constellation |
Cygnus |
| Observation Dates |
June 1, 2000
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| Observation Time |
5 hours |
| Obs. IDs |
588
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| Color Code |
Intensity of the broad-band (0.3-3 keV) X-ray emission |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| Distance Estimate |
About 3,000 light years |
| Release Date |
June 13, 2001 |
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