NGC5189 - Spiral Planetary Nebula

This is an extremely small target for my setup but using advanced editing tools I was able to capture its remarkable splendor. The planetary nebulae captured here is a spectacular example of beautiful complexity, representing the final, brief stage in the life of a medium-sized star a bit smaller than our Sun. The nebula, named NGC 5189 is located 1,800 light-years away in the southern constellation Musca.

While consuming the last of the fuel in its core, the former star with a mass less than eight times that of the Sun will blow its outer layers away, giving rise to this planetary nebula. Some of these stellar puffballs are almost round, resembling huge soap bubbles or giant planets (hence the name), but others, such as NGC 5189 are more intricate.

In particular, this planetary nebula exhibits a curious reversed “S”-shaped profile, with a central bar that is most likely the projection of an inner ring of gas discharged by the star, seen edge on. The details of the physical processes producing such a complex symmetry from a simple, spherical star are still the object of astronomical controversy. One possibility is that the star has a very close (but unseen) companion. Over time the orbits drift due to precession and this could result in the complex curves on the opposite sides of the star visible in this image.