Cosmic butterfly

The Bug Nebula, NGC 6302, is one of the brightest and most extreme planetary nebulae known. It is located about 4,000 light-years away, towards the Scorpius constellation (the Scorpion). The nebula is the swansong of a dying solar-like star lying at its centre. At about 250,000 degrees Celsius and smothered in a blanket of hailstones, the star itself has never been observed as it is surrounded by a dense disc of gas and dust, opaque to light. This dense disc may be the origin of the hourglass structure of the nebula.

This colour image, which nicely highlights the complex structure of the nebula, is a composite of three exposures through blue, green and red filters. It was made using the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory, Chile.

Crédit:

ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R. Gendler, A. Hornstrup and J.-E. Ovaldsen

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso-6302
Type:Observation
Date de publication:3 décembre 2009 23:19
Taille:1200 x 1117 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:NGC 6302
Type:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Distance:4000 années lumière
Constellation:Scorpius
Catégorie:Nebulae

Formats des images

Grand JPEG
283,1 Kio
JPEG taille écran
169,8 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
195,6 Kio
1280x1024
278,6 Kio
1600x1200
359,2 Kio
1920x1200
393,7 Kio
2048x1536
503,3 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):17 13 44.27
Position (Dec):-37° 6' 16.25"
Field of view:6.22 x 5.79 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 45.1° left of vertical

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineLongueur d'ondeTélescope
Visible
B
451 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Visible
V
539 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Visible
R
651 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC