Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula
<< Yesterday 13.03.2013 Tomorrow >>
NGC 6751: The Glowing Eye Nebula
Credit & Copyright: Hubble Legacy Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing - Donald Waid
Explanation: Planetary nebulae can look simple, round, and planet-like in small telescopes. But images from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope have become well known for showing these fluorescent gas shrouds of dying Sun-like stars to possess a staggering variety of detailed symmetries and shapes. This composite color Hubble image of NGC 6751, the Glowing Eye Nebula, is a beautiful example of a classic planetary nebula with complex features. It was selected in April of 2000 to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hubble in orbit, but was reprocessed recently by an amateur as part of the Hubble Legacy program. Winds and radiation from the intensely hot central star (140,000 degrees Celsius) have apparently created the nebula's streamer-like features. The nebula's actual diameter is approximately 0.8 light-years or about 600 times the size of our Solar System. NGC 6751 is 6,500 light-years distant in the high-flying constellation of the Eagle (Aquila).

Astrophysicists: Browse 550+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
 < March 2013  >
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su




123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.

Based on Astronomy Picture Of the Day

Publications with keywords: NGC 6751 - planetary nebula
Publications with words: NGC 6751 - planetary nebula
See also:
All publications on this topic >>