Recurring Nova T Pyxidis
Depicts: T Pyxidis
Copyright: Mike Shara, Bob Williams, and David Zurek (Space Telescope Science Institute); Roberto Gilmozzi (European Southern Observatory); Dina Prialnik (Tel Aviv University); and NASA
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Closer inspection by the Hubble Space Telescope (right-hand image), however,
reveals that the shells are not smooth at all. In fact, this high-resolution image
shows that the shells are actually more than 2,000 gaseous blobs packed into
an area that is 1 light-year across. Resembling shrapnel from a shotgun blast,
the blobs may have been produced by the nova explosion, the subsequent
expansion of gaseous debris, or collisions between fast-moving and slow-
moving gas from several eruptions. False color has been applied to this image
to enhance details in the blobs.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
