Sparkling diamond solitaire in space marks Valentine’s Day
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) marked Valentine’s Day on Monday by releasing the image of a sparkling ring of stars called Abell 33.
Abell 33, captured by European Southern Observatory (ESO)’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, is a planetary nebula some 2,500 light-years from Earth.
The strikingly bright star named HD 83535 located along the rim of Abell 33 creates the image of sparkling diamond solitaire.
“This planetary nebula emerged after stars with masses similar to that of the Sun ended their lives as white dwarfs,” NARIT explained.
It added that this phenomenon is rare because colourful glowing clouds of gas take irregular shapes due to stellar rotation or gravity.
