- Eight-Burst Nebula
- Southern Ring Nebula
- Caldwell 74
- Trobriand Plate (Wikipedia)
The Trobriand Plate was, and likely is, an independent microplate between New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It has some unique geology, having the presence of the youngest metamorphic core complexes on earth. If there is presently active subduction between it and the Solomon Plate, at the Trobriand Trough, it continues to be an active microplate. Otherwise in the latest tectonic models it has merged with the Solomon Sea Plate, which becomes somewhat larger than predicted by Bird’s 2003 model of Tectonic Plates. As a smaller Solomon Sea Plate is totally underwater, global positioning data can not resolve this issue. The area of the plate is associated with earthquake and volcanic activity as part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.
- NASA’s Webb Captures Dying Star’s Final ‘Performance’ in Fine Detail (webbtelescope.org)
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has cast the Southern Ring Nebula in an entirely new light. By observing the nebula in mid-infrared wavelengths, Webb has unveiled the second, dusty star at the center of the nebula in far more detail. The star closely orbits its companion as it periodically ejects layers of gas and dust. Together, the swirling duo have created a fantastic landscape of asymmetrical shells. Webb’s near-infrared light image hones in on “spotlights” from the stars, where light travels through holes in the nebula’s dusty ejections.
- NGC 3132 (Wikipedia)
NGC 3132 (also known as the Eight-Burst Nebula, the Southern Ring Nebula, or Caldwell 74) is a bright and extensively studied planetary nebula in the constellation Vela. Its distance from Earth is estimated at 613 pc or 2,000 light-years.
