NGC 6751: The Glowing
Eye Nebula
From NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
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).
Image Credit: Hubble Legacy
Archive, ESA, NASA; Processing - Donald Waid