Space Photo Of The Day: Eye-Shaped Nebula

Space Photo Of The Day: Eye-Shaped Nebula

The beautiful eye-shaped nebula is a cloud of faint green gas that Hubble scientists believe made up almost half of the star's mass for most of its life. Two blood-shot corners give it the look of a weary clubber, one wearing startlingly coloured contacts.

The hot remnant star sits in the centre of this colourful nebula, driving wind into the older material and forming a hot interior bubble.

Called NGC 6826, it is 2,200 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

Credits: Bruce Balick (University of Washington), Jason Alexander (University of Washington), Arsen Hajian (U.S. Naval Observatory), Yervant Terzian (Cornell University), Mario Perinotto (University of Florence, Italy), Patrizio Patriarchi (Arcetri Observatory, Italy) and NASA. Jan. 27, 1996 with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.

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