Journalism of Courage
Advertisement
Premium

This stunning ‘cosmic butterfly’ event captured by ESO telescope has netizens mesmerised

Named for its resemblance to a butterfly, the space phenomenon is known as NGC 2899, is actually a planetary nebula- a giant cloud of gas that forms around an unexploded star.

The phenomenon is located between 3000 and 6500 light-years away in the Southern constellation of Vela. (Picture credit: Twitter/ ESO)

The European Southern Observatory recently captured a rare celestial object with its Very Large Telescope (VLT) and its images have left netizens mesmerised. The picture is of a massive bubble in deep space that is in the shape of a butterfly and is surely a treat to the eyes.

The phenomenon, known as NGC 2899, is actually a planetary nebula — a giant cloud of gas that forms around an unexploded star. Shared by ESO on Twitter, the phenomenon has an intricate pattern and stunning colour combination of blue, purple and violet.

“Resembling a butterfly with its symmetrical structure, beautiful colours, and intricate patterns, this striking bubble of gas, NGC 2899, appears to float and flutter across the sky in this new picture from our VLT,” ESO wrote on Twitter.

Take a look at some of the reactions here:


https://twitter.com/PBoogie11/status/1289202263022592006


https://twitter.com/ajameeri/status/1289757362442522625


The bubble of gas reportedly stretches over two light years from its centre, reaching a temperature of over ten thousand degrees.

According to ESO, the phenomenon, which is located between 3000 and 6500 light-years away in the southern constellation of Vela has never been captured with such striking details. Along with the highly-detailed photo of the celestial event, ESO also released a video of zooming into the planetary nebula NGC 2899 among a million stars.

From the homepage
Tags:
  • Social media viral
Edition
Install the Express App for
a better experience
Featured
Trending Topics
News
Multimedia
Follow Us
Express ExplainedThe importance of Sir Creek: Why India & Pakistan have failed to solve border dispute
X