#Astronomers discover fluttering ‘butterfly’ in deep space

NGC 2899 is located between 3,000 and 6,500 light-years from Earth.
ESO

In a scenario suitable for a space opera, European astronomers have spotted an astral anomaly that resembles a brilliant glowing butterfly.

“It appears to float and flutter across the sky,” wrote researchers from Chile’s European Southern Observatory (ESO), who captured the object with the aptly named Very Large Telescope.

Despite resembling an intergalactic insect, the image is actually a gas bubble called NGC 2899 that’s located between 3,000 and 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Vela, per the release.

The planetary nebulae was formed when one of Vela’s central stars “reached the end of its life and cast off its outer layers.” This, in turn, prompted the other star to interfere with the flow of gas, resulting in a two-lobed symmetrical shape seen in only around 10% to 20% of planetary nebulae. Think a bizarre case of interstellar indigestion.

Meanwhile, NGC’s radiant red-blue hue is caused by giant gas swaths burning at over 10,000 degrees due to radiation from the parent star.

NGC 2899 has been a fixture on the astronomy scene since being discovered in 1835 by UK scientist John Herschel. However, thanks to the Very Large Telescope — which is the “world’s most advanced optical instrument” — ESO researchers could observe never-before-seen details, including the “faint outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing over the background stars.”

Unfortunately, it won’t be long before the celestial butterfly bites the dust. NGC’s vibrant gas shells are expected to shine for only a few thousand years “until they ultimately disperse slowly through space” — a mere blip on the astronomical timescale.

NGC 2899 isn’t the only cosmic phenomenon that has astronomers over the moon. In May, NASA researchers discovered evidence of a parallel universe where time runs in reverse.