Introduction
Some of the most interesting puzzles created by the science of astronomy include the celestial bodies like planets and stars. Other important celestial objects include the planetary Ring Nebula which is believed to have been formed when a central star shaded off part of its mass after the completion of its lifespan. The Ring Nebula was discovered in 1779 by a French astronomer called Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix. However, another French astronomer, Charles Messier, featured the same concept in his catalogue. He was unaware of the previous discovery by Pellepoix. The latter discover called these objects as Messier 57. Much was not known about these objects until the establishment of Hubble space telescope in the late 20th century. The telescope enabled astronomers to have a better view and enough materials to study the object.
Sources of Information About Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula can be observed as a glowing object on the sky during clear nights. However, in order to obtain a detailed view of this object, a very strong telescope was required. This was termed as the Hubble Space Telescope. According to images released by NASA, the Ring Nebula is displayed as a very complex structure. These images have been widely used by different astronomers to come up with models of this celestial object for the purpose of learning and further studies. From these images, astronomers have demonstrated the Ring Nebula as a 3-D model entirely made up of glowing gases. The same research by NASA also indicated that this ring is attached to the circumference of a blue structure which is in the shape of a football (Constellation Guide,2013).
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The Significance of the Ring Nebula to the Science of Astronomy
Ring Nebula is one of the most popular celestial objects. It is one of the few visible celestial objects, appearing in different colors due to its composition which contains different elements subjected to varying temperature. This object, together with two others, forms what is called the “Summer Triangle”, which is basically an asterism observed above the summer sky (Messier Objects, 2018). This nebular, by the fact that it is easily observable, has enabled astronomers and other scientists to study important properties of the Ring Nebula. This has provided them with a rough idea of how other celestial bodies which cannot be observed with ease behave.
Important Aspects of Ring Nebula
As already mentioned herein, the star nebula is believed to have originated from the mass that was shed off by a large central star at the end of its lifespan. Theoretically, it is believed that ring nebula originated from a star that was more massive than the sun although it was not too large to explode. The large star is believed to have shed off ionized gases at the end of its evolution before it turned into a white dwarf. This ring is observable from the earth surface, especially during cloudless nights. It is alternatively referred to as M57, that is, Messier 57, New General Catalogue (NGC6720) and also as Boss General Catalogue (GC 4447) (Constellation guide, 2013). The star is about 4,000 years old. It is rated as the fifth star in the sky in terms of brightness.
The Relevance of Messier Objects to Astronomy Lecture Course
The knowledge obtained from studying the Ring Nebula justifies that indeed there is a huge number of celestial bodies. It can also be used to prove that these celestial bodies have different physical, chemical and structural properties based on their mode of formation and location. The study about this ring also justifies that these celestial bodies were formed thousands of years down the line due to natural forces and processes. For instance, Ring Nebula was formed when a large central star was at the final stages of its lifespan.
Interesting New Facts About Ring Nebula
Approximately, the Ring Nebula is about 1 light year across. The Ring Nebula is also believed to be undergoing a process of expansion. In a single day, it is believed that the Ring Nebula usually expands by about 1.5 million kilometers. Having said that, it is also worth to note that through scientific research, it is estimated that the Ring will have expanded by about 50% diameter within some thousands of years. Thereafter, it is believed that the ring will gradually fade away and disperse completely (SolarSystemQuick, 2018).
Constellation of Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula is located in a constellation referred to as Lyra, which is found in the southern parts of Vega. This is approximately 40% of the distance between the two Lyra of Beta and Gamma Lyrae (Constellation Guide, 2013). The Ring also has an estimated visual magnitude of about 8.8, which is found at about 2300 light years when measured from the sun. M57 measures about 230’’ by 230’’, a radius of approximately 1.3 light years and an angular dimension of 1.5 by 1 arcminutes. This Ring, in terms of coordinates, is located at a right ascension of 18 hours 53 minutes and 35.079 seconds and at a positive declination of 33o01’45.03’’ (Constellation Guide, 2013). Astronomers have, therefore, related important facts about this Ring Nebula to other unseen but known terrestrial bodies.
The Appearance of Ring Nebula
The Ring Nebula is observed as a football-like mass of several bright colors. These colors include red on the outermost surface. The red outermost layer is made up of Hydrogen gas entirely. Other notorious colors are blue and green. These are mainly composed of molecular Nitrogen, Sulphur, Helium, and Oxygen which is doubly-ionized (Messier Objects, 2015). The planetary nebula nucleus, denoted as PNN has an average temperature of 125,000 Kelvin and it has a luminous which is approximately more than 200 times that of the Sun. It is also estimated that the PNN has a mass of between 0.61-0.62 solar masses (Messier Objects, 2015).
- Constellation Guide. (2013). Ring Nebula (M57) in Lyra. Retrieved from https://www.constellation-guide.com/ring-nebula-m57-in-lyra/
- Messier Objects. (2015). Messier 57: Ring Nebula. Retrieved from https://www.messier-objects.com/messier-57-ring-nebula/
- SolarSystemQuick. (2018). Ring Nebula. Retrieved from https://www.solarsystemquick.com/universe/ring-nebula.htm
