APOD 1.7 A Spiral Nebula Star Surrounding Star R Sculptoris
This star, R Sculptoris, is a red giant star. The red circles surrounding it is a very unusual spiral which was discovered with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). This is the first time such a spiral has been observed in three-dimensions. The ALMA telescope is the most powerful of its kind in the world. The spiral is made up of material coming out of the star and will contribute to the dust and gas in the universe which will create future stars. It is suspected that there is a binary star close by to R Sculptoris which it is ejecting this material towards. Astronomers hope to discover more about how stars as large as this one evolve at the end of their lives. Also, they think they will gain insight into how the elements making up the Earth reached our planet. This star is in the constellation "The Sculptor," near Aquarius.
Very cool. I wonder how long it takes for the gas to disappear,and how fast all of it is moving.
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