A telescope in Chile has captured a new and spectacular image of NGC 6302, better known as the Butterfly Nebula, a cosmic structure with bright gas “wings” that extend into space.
The image was taken by the Gemini South Telescope, part of the international observatory located on Cerro Pachón, as part of the celebration of its 25th year of operation. The nebula lies between 2,500 and 3,800 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Scorpius.
At the center of this cosmic structure is a white dwarf star that, after expelling its outer layers of gas, shaped the wings that now float in space. The residual heat of that star energizes the gas, causing it to emit an intense glow visible from the Chilean observatory.
This discovery reaffirms the importance of South American observatories in space exploration and offers both astronomers and enthusiasts a fascinating view of the stellar life cycle and the beauty of the universe.
Why is this new image of the Butterfly Nebula so important?
Because it allows us to closely observe the final stage of a Sun-like star, how it sheds its layers and forms a planetary nebula, shedding light on the cosmic processes of stellar birth, death, and transformation.
