The Ring Nebula, known as M57, is the bright remnant of a Sun-like star with an apparent magnitude of 8.8. It was discovered in 1779 by the French astronomer Antoine Darquier de Pellepoix. The “ring” seen in the center of this nebula is a thick cylinder of glowing gas and dust surrounding the destroyed star. As the star begins to run out of fuel, its core will become smaller and hotter and boil away, destroying its outer layers, NASA said.
The Spitzer Telescope detected this nebula using its infrared array camera, detailing the outer regions, which look like petals. Spitzer can detect infrared light from hydrogen molecules, which absorb ultraviolet radiation from the star. Earlier photos taken by the Visible-Light Telescope show the inner glowing loop of gas around a typically fading star. The Ring Nebula is an easy target for amateur astronomers, as it is easily observable and is tilted toward Earth.
NASA launched the Spitzer Telescope, formerly known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility, in August 2003. It was closed in January 2020. During the operation, Spitzer discovered a giant ring of Saturn, and revealed a system of seven Earth-sized planets around a star 40 light years away.
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