Displaying items by tag: Planetary Nebula

Messier 57 is a planetary nebula located in Lyra. A planetary nebula when a star nears the end of its life at the end of its red giant phase, the outer layers are blown off as the star shrinks down to be come a white dwarf. The exposed core of the star ionizes the surrounding gas causing it to glow. Planetary nebula typically only last a few ten thousands of years as the gas dissipates.

The blueish-green light comes from ionized oxygen, and the red outer layers come from ionized hydrogen. In deeper images it can be seen extending out much further. The central star shines at magnitude 14.8

Planetary nebula Messier 27, often called the Dumbbell Nebula. Located in the constellation of Vulpecula. The term planetary is a misnomer as it has nothing to do with planets. The outer layer of the star is expelled into space when a star goes through a red giant phase. The outer layers are then ionized by the remaining core as it becomes a white dwarf star. Something our Sun may become near the end of its life cycle. 

NGC 2392 is a planetary nebula located 6,500 light years away in Gemini. Sometimes called the Eskimo Nebula or Clown Face nebula as it resembles a head with a parka or other object around it.

NGC 246 is a planetary nebula located in Cetus, commonly called the Skull Nebula due to its resemblance of a skull.

Messier 76 is a planetary nebula located in Perseus. Sometimes referred to as the little Dumbbell Nebula or Barbell Nebula. Spanning around 1.2 light years across and located some 2,500 light years away makes it one of the more challenging Messier objects.

One of these lights is not like the rest, tiny NGC 7662 aka The Blue Snowball. It is a planetary nebula located in the constellation of Andromeda. The bright star in the top left corner is 13 And.

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NGC 6781 is a planetary nebula located in Aquila. It's outer shells blown off from the central star in its transition from red giant to white dwarf spans some two light years across.

NGC 7008 is a planetary nebula located in Cygnus. it is sometimes called the Fetus Nebula. The shell is unusual in that it appears to have two different shells. One possibility that it was a binary star system with two different shells formed from each of the stars as each star with through the same red giant phase.

M57 also called the Ring Nebula is a planetary nebula (planetary nebula have nothing to do with planets). They are formed when a star near the end of its evolutionary life expels its outer layers as it shrinks down to the white dwarf stage. The planetary nebula name comes from the early days when nebula such as this looked like planetary disks to the early observers.   

Sometimes called the Oyster Nebula, NGC 1501 is a planetary nebula located in Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). The central star shed its outer layers and those layers are now illuminated by the central star. The central star is also reported to be a pulsating variable star with an extremely short period of brightness changes.