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.

Créditos:

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

Sobre a imagem

Id:eso-6302
Tipo:Observação
Data de divulgação:3 de Dezembro de 2009 às 23:19
Tamanho:1200 x 1117 px

Sobre o objeto

Nome:NGC 6302
Tipo:Milky Way : Nebula : Type : Planetary
Distância:4000 anos-luz
Constellation:Scorpius
Categoria:Nebulae

Formatos de imagens

JPEG grande
283,1 KB

Papéis de parede

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

Coordenadas

Position (RA):17 13 44.27
Position (Dec):-37° 6' 16.25"
Field of view:6.22 x 5.79 arcminutes
Orientação:O norte está a 45.1° à esquerda da vertical

Cores e filtros

BandaComprimento de ondaTelescópio
Óptico
B
451 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Óptico
V
539 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC
Óptico
R
651 nmDanish 1.54-metre telescope
DFOSC