Hen 2-437 is a
bipolar
Bipolar may refer to:
Astronomy
* Bipolar nebula, a distinctive nebular formation
* Bipolar outflow, two continuous flows of gas from the poles of a star
Mathematics
* Bipolar coordinates, a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system
* Bipolar ...
planetary nebula
A planetary nebula is a type of emission nebula consisting of an expanding, glowing shell of ionized gas ejected from red giant stars late in their lives.
The term "planetary nebula" is a misnomer because they are unrelated to planets. The ...
in the constellation
Vulpecula
Vulpecula is a faint constellation in the northern sky. Its name is Latin for "little fox", although it is commonly known simply as the fox. It was identified in the seventeenth century, and is located in the middle of the Summer Triangle (an ...
. The
nebula
A nebula (; or nebulas) is a distinct luminescent part of interstellar medium, which can consist of ionized, neutral, or molecular hydrogen and also cosmic dust. Nebulae are often star-forming regions, such as in the Pillars of Creation in ...
is notable for its ice blue colorisation. It was first discovered by
Rudolph Minkowski
Rudolph Minkowski (born Rudolf Leo Bernhard Minkowski ; ; May 28, 1895 – January 4, 1976) was a German-American astronomer.
Biography
Minkowski was the son of Marie Johanna Siegel and physiologist Oskar Minkowski. His uncle was Hermann Mi ...
in 1946. Hen 2-437 formed when a
low mass star similar to the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...
swelled into its
red giant
A red giant is a luminous giant star of low or intermediate mass (roughly 0.3–8 solar masses ()) in a late phase of stellar evolution. The stellar atmosphere, outer atmosphere is inflated and tenuous, making the radius large and the surface t ...
phase ejecting its outer layers into space.
See also
*
List of largest nebulae
Below is a list of the largest known nebulae so far discovered, ordered by actual diameter. This list is prone to change because of inconsistencies between studies, the great distances of nebulae from our stellar neighborhood, and the constant re ...
*
Lists of nebulae
The following articles contain lists of nebulae:
*List of dark nebulae
* List of diffuse nebulae
* List of largest nebulae
* List of planetary nebulae
* List of protoplanetary nebulae
* List of supernova remnants
See also
* Lists of astronomical ...
References
*
Planetary nebulae
Vulpecula
Astronomical objects discovered in 1946
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