Jul 13
The Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302 // 文飞 刘
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Yemen
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Maldives
seen from Portugal
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Yemen
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from United States
The Butterfly Nebula, NGC 6302 // 文飞 刘
The Cat's Eye Nebula, NGC 6543 // Lucas Man
Astronomy Picture of the Day
2006 August 3
M27: Not A Comet
Credit & Copyright: Rick Krejci (RicksAstro Astrophotography)
Explanation: While searching the skies above 18th century France for comets, astronomer Charles Messier diligently recorded this object as number 27 on his list of things which are definitely not comets. So what is it? Well, 20th century astronomers would classify it as a Planetary Nebula ... but it's not a planet either, even though it may appear round and planet-like in a small telescope. Messier 27 (M27) is now known to be an excellent example of a gaseous emission nebula created as a sun-like star runs out of nuclear fuel in its core. The nebula forms as the star's outer layers are expelled into space, with a visible glow generated by atoms excited by the dying star's intense but invisible ultraviolet light. Known by the popular name of the Dumbbell Nebula, the beautifully symmetric interstellar gas cloud is about 1,200 light-years away in the constellation Vulpecula. This intriguing color composite view was recorded through narrow band filters sensitive to emission from hydrogen atoms (shown in red) and oxygen atoms (shown in blue/green).
Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
A service of: EUD at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
The Flaming Skull Nebula, Sh2-68 // Thomas
The Helix Nebula, NGC 7293 // Easternpaastro
The Ghost of Jupiter, NGC 3242 // Michael Broyles
The Crystal Ball Nebula, NGC 1514 // Oleg Sh
The Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 3132 // Marius