Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Adam Block

At a distance of 450 light years away, this gas bubble released by a dying star is one the closest of its type. It is estimated that the process of ejection of these gas began some 10,000 years ago. The nebula is so close to us that its size on the sky is very large- almost the size of the moon! It can be seen with binoculars under the dark skies of Kitt Peak as a circular glow in the constellation of Aquarius. Of course an image through a telescope reveals much more. In this image you can see detail in shell and the central star which makes the gas glow (similar to a neon light). The radial fingers of gas are caused by the immense UV radiation that the white dwarf (central star) emits and evaporates material in the process. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-helixblock3/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License