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                           Astronomy Picture of the Day   
      
       Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our   
         fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation   
                       written by a professional astronomer.   
      
                                  2023 October 3   
       A vertical planetary nebula is shown in orange around the outside but   
        with a blue glow in the center. The outside is shaped like a tilted   
       hourglass, while the inside appears similar to an eye. Please see the   
                    explanation for more detailed information.   
      
                 MyCn 18: The Engraved Hourglass Planetary Nebula   
          Image Credit & Copyright: NASA, ESA, Hubble, HLA; Processing &   
                          Copyright: Harshwardhan Pathak   
      
      Explanation: Do you see the hourglass shape -- or does it see you? If   
      you can picture it, the rings of MyCn 18 trace the outline of an   
      hourglass -- although one with an unusual eye in its center. Either   
      way, the sands of time are running out for the central star of this   
      hourglass-shaped planetary nebula. With its nuclear fuel exhausted,   
      this brief, spectacular, closing phase of a Sun-like star's life occurs   
      as its outer layers are ejected - its core becoming a cooling, fading   
      white dwarf. In 1995, astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope (HST)   
      to make a series of images of planetary nebulae, including the one   
      featured here. Pictured, delicate rings of colorful glowing gas   
      (nitrogen-red, hydrogen-green, and oxygen-blue) outline the tenuous   
      walls of the hourglass. The unprecedented sharpness of the Hubble   
      images has revealed surprising details of the nebula ejection process   
      that are helping to resolve the outstanding mysteries of the complex   
      shapes and symmetries of planetary nebulas like MyCn 18.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: witch head?   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                         A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,   
                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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