These four planetary nebulae imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope all lie in our Milky Way Galaxy. Their distances from Earth are all roughly the same, about 7,000 light-years. The snapshots were taken with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 in February 2007. Like snowflakes, planetary nebulae show a wide variety of shapes, indicative of the complex processes that occur at the end of stellar life.
He 2-47, at top, left, is dubbed the "starfish," because of its shape. The six lobes of gas and dust, which resemble the legs of a starfish, suggest that He 2-47 puffed off material at least three times in three different directions. Each time, the star fired off a narrow pair of opposite jets of gas. He 2-47 is in the southern constellation Carina.
IC 4593, at top, right, displays a prominent pair of jets on opposite sides of the dying star, ending in red knots of glowing nitrogen gas. IC 4593 is in the northern constellation Hercules.
NGC 5307, at bottom, left, displays a spiral pattern, which may have been caused by the dying star wobbling as it expelled jets of gas in different directions. NGC 5307 resides in the southern constellation Centaurus.
NGC 5315, the chaotic-looking nebula at bottom, right, reveals an x-shaped structure. This shape suggests that the star ejected material in two different outbursts in two distinct directions. Each outburst unleashed a pair of diametrically opposed outflows. NGC 5315 lies in the southern constellation Circinus.
This Hubble Heritage Team photo reflects a more artistic arrangement of the planetary nebulae.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | He 2-47, NGC 5315, IC 4593, NGC 5307 |
| Object Description | Planetary Nebulae |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposals and : K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, and W. Januszewski (Hubble Heritage Team/STScI). High-level Science Products are available from the . |
| Instrument | HST>WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | February, 2007 |
| Filters | F502N ([O III]), F656N (H alpha), and F658N ([N II]) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Each of these images are a composite of many separate exposures made by the WFPC2 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F502N ([O III]) Green: F656N (H alpha) Red: F658N ([N II]) |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
