中文翻譯:
在一個很遙遠的地方，有一顆像我們太陽一樣的星星，正在把一些五顏六色的氣體推出去，這些氣體在空中形成了一個十分特別的形狀，像是一隻小蟻蟻，而不是圓圓的球體。這是因為氣體以每小時一千公里的速度飛出，這麼快的速度讓它們可以形成奇特的形狀。還有一個神秘的因素，也許這顆太陽似的星星的旁邊，還有一顆暗暗的星星在繞著它轉；或者是這顆星星自身的旋轉和磁場影響了氣體的流動。天文學家們希望能了解這隻宇宙蟻蟻的故事，這樣將能對我們的太陽和地球未來的樣子有更多的了解哦！
原文:
Why isn’t this ant a big sphere? Planetary nebula Mz3 is being cast off by a star similar to our Sun that is, surely, round. Why then would the gas that is streaming away create an ant-shaped nebula that is distinctly not round? Clues might include the high 1000-kilometer per second speed of the expelled gas, the light-year long length of the structure, and the magnetism of the star featured here at the nebula’s center. One possible answer is that Mz3 is hiding a second, dimmer star that orbits close in to the bright star. A competing hypothesis holds that the central star’s own spin and magnetic field are channeling the gas. Since the central star appears to be so similar to our own Sun, astronomers hope that increased understanding of the history of this giant space ant can provide useful insight into the likely future of our own Sun and Earth. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator
來源:NASA每日圖片
