NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day Collection

Celebrating Hubble With NGC 6751

Planetary nebulae do [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] look simple, round, and planet-like in small telescopes. But images from the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope [ http://hubble.stsci…] have become well known for showing these fluorescent gas shrouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of dying Sun-like stars to possess a staggering variety [ http://oposite.stsc…] of detailed symmetries and shapes. This composite color Hubble image of NGC 6751 [ http://oposite.stsc…] is a beautiful example of a classic planetary nebula with complex features and was selected to commemorate the tenth anniversary [ http://pao.gsfc.nas…] of Hubble in orbit. The colors were chosen to represent the relative temperature of the gas - blue, orange, and red indicating the hottest to coolest gas. Winds and radiation from the intensely hot central star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] (140,000 degrees [ http://www.unidata.…blynds/tmp.html ] Celsius [ http://www.cchem.be…temperature.html ]) have apparently created the nebula's streamer-like features. The nebula's [ http://heritage.sts…ngc6751table.html ] actual diameter is approximately 0.8 light-years or about 600 times the size [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] of our solar system. NGC 6751 is 6,500 light-years distant in the constellation Aquila [ http://www.astro.wi…constellations/Aquil a.html ].

A. Hajian [ mailto:hajian.arsen@ usno.navy.mil ] (USNO [ http://www.usno.nav…]) et al., Hubble Heritage Team [ http://heritage.sts…] (STScI [ http://www.stsci.edu]/ AURA [ http://www.aura-ast…]), NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/]

planetary nebula

ngc 6751

hubble space telescope

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)

Sun

Aura

Aquila

Hubble Space Telescope (HST)

New General Catalogue (NGC)

http://antwrp.gsfc.…

SPD-APOD-ap000407