Hubble Shows ‘Cometary Knots’ Surrounding a Dying Star
From Times staff and wire reports
New images from the Hubble Space Telescope have surprised astronomers by uncovering thousands of gigantic tadpole-shaped objects surrounding a dying star. These “cometary knots” are probably the result of a dying star’s final outbursts, according to astronomer C. Robert O’Dell of Rice University. The “head” of each of the cometary knots is at least twice the diameter of our solar system. O’Dell expects that the gaseous knots, which are several billion miles across, eventually will dissipate and vanish into the cold emptiness of interstellar space.
