This close-up, visible-light view by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals new details of the Ring Nebula.
The object is tilted toward Earth so that astronomers see the ring face-on. The Hubble observations reveal that the nebula's shape is more complicated than astronomers thought. The blue gas in the nebula's center is actually a football-shaped structure that pierces the red doughnut-shaped material. Hubble also uncovers the detailed structure of the dark, irregular knots of dense gas embedded along the inner rim of the ring. The knots look like spokes in a bicycle. The Hubble images have allowed the research team to match up the knots with the spikes of light around the bright, main ring, which are a shadow effect.
The Ring Nebula is a well-known planetary nebula, the glowing remains of a Sun-like star. The tiny white dot in the center of the nebula is the star's hot core, called a white dwarf.
The nebula is about 2,000 light-years away in the constellation Lyra. The structure measures roughly one light-year across.
The Hubble observations were taken Sept. 19, 2011, by the Wide Field Camera 3. In the image, the deep blue color in the center represents helium; the cyan color of the inner ring is the glow of hydrogen and oxygen; and the reddish color of the outer ring is from nitrogen and sulfur.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Ring Nebula, M57, NGC 6720 |
| Object Description | Planetary Nebula |
| R.A. Position | 18h 53m 35.07s |
| Dec. Position | 33° 1' 45.03" |
| Constellation | Lyra |
| Distance | 2,300 light-years (700 parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The image was created from Hubble data from proposal : C. R. O'Dell (Vanderbilt University), G. Ferland (University of Kentucky), and W. Henney and M. Peimbert (UNAM). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | September 19, 2011 |
| Filters | F469N (He II), F487N (H-beta), F502N ([O III]), F645N (continuum), F656N (H-alpha), F658N ([N II]), and F673N ([S II]) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Blue: F469N (He II) + F487N (H-beta) Blue/green: F502N ([O III]) Green: F645N (continuum) Green/yellow: F656N (H-alpha) Red: F658N ([N II]) Orange: F673N ([S 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. |
