The Gemini South telescope is celebrating 25 years, and what better way to mark the occasion than with a stunning new image of the Butterfly Nebula? This beautiful nebula, also known as NGC 6302, is found in the constellation Scorpius. While its exact distance remains uncertain, it’s believed to be between 2,500 and 3,800 light-years away.
At the heart of the Butterfly Nebula lies a white dwarf star, blazing at around 250,000 degrees Celsius (450,000 degrees Fahrenheit). This star once shone brighter as a massive star before it expanded into a red giant. When it reached the end of its life, it shed its outer layers, giving rise to the nebula. What remains is its core—a white dwarf with two-thirds the mass of the Sun. In fact, stars like our Sun will also meet a similar fate, eventually becoming white dwarfs surrounded by beautiful planetary nebulas in about 5 billion years.
The image reveals fascinating details about the nebula’s structure. The wings of the butterfly shape were crafted by fast-moving gas, while slower material ejected from the star’s equatorial zone created a dark, dusty belt. This outflow of hot radiation energized the gas, heating it to 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit (20,000 degrees Celsius). The red hues in the image represent ionized hydrogen, and the blues show ionized oxygen.
Students from Chile selected the Butterfly Nebula as the subject for the 25th-anniversary image through the Gemini First Light Anniversary Image Contest. The 8.1-meter (26.6 feet) Gemini South telescope is situated atop Cerro Pachón in the Andes of Chile. It’s part of the International Gemini Observatory, which includes its twin, Gemini North, located on Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Together, they are operated by the National Science Foundation’s NOIRLab, supported by contributions from Brazil, Canada, Chile, and the UK.
The Gemini telescopes were envisioned by astronomer Fred Gillett, whose goal was to provide continuous sky coverage using identical telescopes to facilitate wide-field surveys in near-infrared light. Both telescopes had their first light in the late 1990s, with Gemini North lighting up in June 1999 and Gemini South following in November 2000. In honor of Gillett, Gemini North is named the Frederick C. Gillett Gemini Telescope.
Recent studies in astronomy have shown that similar cosmic structures like the Butterfly Nebula can provide valuable insights into stellar evolution. For example, data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope indicate that more than 80% of all stars will eventually form planetary nebulas, making studies like this critical for understanding the life cycle of stars. As social media buzzes with the excitement of this anniversary, many astronomy enthusiasts are sharing their own interpretations and views on the beauty of the nebula.
Exploring nebulae like the Butterfly Nebula not only helps us appreciate the universe’s beauty but also educates us about the life cycles of stars and the cosmic processes that shape our galaxy.
