NASA Shares Hubble Image Of Nebula Resembling A Giant Ant

NASA recently shared a stunning photo of a nebula that looks like a giant ant in space. According to the agency, massive cosmic structure, which was photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope, was formed by the death and explosion of a star that’s very similar to the Sun.

The subject of Hubble’s photo has been identified as Menzel 3, which is often referred to as the Ant Nebula due to its appearance. As seen in the photo, the nebula resembles the head and thorax of a garden-variety ant.

According to NASA, the Menzel 3 was formed following the death of a star that was about as massive as the Sun. As the star neared the end of its life cycle, it began shedding its outer layers. Eventually, the star collapsed under the weight of its own gravity, resulting in a massive stellar expansion and explosion.

“The Hubble images directly challenge old ideas about the last stages in the lives of a star,” NASA explained. “By observing Sun-like stars as they approach their deaths, the Hubble Heritage image of [Menzel 3] - along with pictures of other planetary nebulae - shows that our Sun's fate probably will be more interesting, complex, and striking than astronomers imagined just a few years ago.”

Although Menzel 3 is classified as a nebula, how its explosion resembled an ant remains a mystery for NASA. According to the agency, it is possible that Menzel 3’s star belonged to a binary system with a smaller neighbor.

As the smaller star orbited around it, it got consumed by the larger stellar object. Eventually, as the main star exploded, so did the smaller star it consumed. This may have led to the symmetrical pattern formed by the nebula.

Another possible explanation is that Menzel 3’s star emitted powerful magnetic fields as it slowly died. These magnetic fields could have interacted with the strong stellar winds being produced by the star, causing them to form structures around the stellar object.

“These dense winds can be rendered visible by ultraviolet light from the hot central star or from highly supersonic collisions with the ambient gas that excites the material into florescence,” NASA stated.