NGC 6902: The Butterfly
Nebula
From
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
The bright clusters and
nebulae of planet Earth's night sky are often named for flowers or insects. Though its wingspan covers over 3
light-years, NGC 6302 is
no exception.
With an estimated
surface temperature of about 250,000 degrees C, the dying central star of this
particular planetary nebula has become exceptionally
hot, shining brightly in ultraviolet light but hidden from direct view by a
dense torus of dust.
This sharp and colorful close-up of the dying star's nebula was recorded in
2009 by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3, installed during the
final shuttle servicing mission.
Cutting across a bright
cavity of ionized gas, the dust torus surrounding
the central star is near the center of this view, almost edge-on to the
line-of-sight. Molecular hydrogen has been detected in the hot star's dusty cosmic shroud.
NGC 6302 lies
about 4,000 light-years away in the arachnologically correct
constellation of the Scorpion (Scorpius).
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble
SM4 ERO Team
