Watery-Looking Nebula Resembles Manatee

A new view of the remnants of a large supernova captured by National Science Foundation's (NSF) Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) resembles a Florida manatee, thus earning a new nickname, "The Manatee Nebula".

The watery-looking nebula W50 is one of the largest supernova remnants that formed when a giant star, located 18,000 light years away in the constellation of Aquila, died in a supernova explosion around 20,000 years ago. W50 is nearly 700 light years across, and covers two degrees on the sky - a span of four full moons.

The star released its outer gaseous layer as it died, forming a giant manatee-shaped nebula (Photo) seen in the image captured by VLA. The image of W50 clearly resembles the trademark pose of the manatee - floating on its back with flippers crossed over its large belly, according to Space.com.

"When the VLA's giant W50 image reached the NRAO Director's office, Heidi Winter, the Director's Executive Assistant, saw the likeness to a manatee, the endangered marine mammals known as 'sea cows' that congregate in warm waters in the southeastern United States," according to a statement from NRAO officials.

Manatees are giant animals that are around 10 feet long and weigh over 1,000 pounds. They spend their time grazing on sea plants and resting on their backs in warm waters. These animals are endangered as they either get killed or injured because of boat propellers that give deep and curved scars to them.

Their injuries have a striking similarity to the appearance of curved arcs on the W50 nebula, made by powerful jets of charged particles that are pushed outward by the nebula's network of powerful magnetic field lines.

The manatee nebula isn't the only celestial object named after a creature. It is joined by other nebulae in the cosmos including the bug nebula, the eagle nebula, the owl nebula, the red spider nebula, the stingray nebula, the crab nebula and the pelican nebula.